


Gilded Cage; Providence Emerging

by Nilfox



Category: Mother 1 | EarthBound Zero | EarthBound Beginnings, Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound, Mother 3
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2020-08-13 17:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 37,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20178250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nilfox/pseuds/Nilfox
Summary: Nestled deep in the far reaches of the galaxy, lies an isolated section of space.Cut off from the cosmos by a sphere of fire that burns hotter than a thousand suns.This is the Virindis system.The molten cage that imprisons them has stood sentry for time immemorable, no one knows who created it nor its purpose other than to keep everything out and, them within its oppressive embrace.This is the origin of 'The Ship That Forever Sails The Cosmos'.This is the home of 'He Who Has Lost His Tail'. He who will bring universal cosmic destruction, on a multiversal scale.This is the birthplace of the Gyiyg.





	1. Prologue; Inanis est de lumine, Quae fit ex nihilo

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time putting one of my fan fictions up for people to read, I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> I'm a long time fan of the Mother series, and I've always wondered about the race that Giegue belongs to and what led them to Earth. That was the main impetus that drove me to write this story. 
> 
> You can find more info and extra's over at my tumblr; https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deep within the ceaseless city, the beginnings of a cataclysmic clash of wills creeps ever closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time putting one of my fan fictions up for people to read, I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> I'm a long time fan of the Mother series, and I've always wondered about the race that Giegue belongs to and what led them to Earth. That was the main impetus that drove me to write this story.

\------------------------------  
147; 0106 U.V.A.  
147th Day of the 106th Year of the United Virindis Age, dating from the end of the First Virindis War and the establishment of the Umwelt Accords  
\------------------------------

Alloy scraped against metal, spitting a shower of sparks as a ship barely avoids smashing into a wall, turning and taking off into the steel jungle that is Nucade.

"Hold this thing still I'm trying to aim!"

The city flew by in a blur of metallic greys and bright lights. Tall buildings reached far past the clouds, with decks for visitors to land on. Displaying bright signs advertising all kinds of attractions. Behind the ship that had just narrowly avoided colliding with a wall were seven Valisi Battle Cruisers, sleek ships cutting through the airways at a breakneck pace. Standard issue gunships used by the Nucades armed forces.

The two leading the pack were firing volleys of volatile energy in an effort to bring the high-speed chase to an end. While a Nevidian hung out the passenger window of the ship, as he flung psychic attacks at their pursuers

"You got any firepower in this scrap heap?" Murello yelled as he fired a bolt of PK Thunder from his hand, his voice carried a rich timbre and had a slight insectoid buzz.

The driver was a stocky Shambler, touting the familiar thick snow white fur they were known for. He had distinct markings on his tentacles. Twisting knotted patterns that became more defined as he pulled back hard on the handles driving the ship upwards and banking hard to the right, dodging an oncoming vehicle.

One of their pursuers was less fortunate, smashing into it at high speeds igniting a hellish fireball leaving nothing behind but mangled metal to rain down onto a city walkway.

"Yeah yeah, Press the red and purple buttons below the back seat. Grab a couple M.E.D.s, configure them to give off a smoke screen, and there’s a Pangolin back there or a Piezo if you can use Shields." The Shambler said.

The Nevidian unfastened his seat strap and clambered over to the back seat. Holding on to the back of the passenger seat for stability.

"Murello! Grab onto something we gotta roll!"

“We're what!?” Before Murello could put words to his reservations with his driver's strategy. They were already upside down, diving, and spinning to avoid capture. He wrapped his four arms tightly around the passenger seat shutting his eyes tight fervently praying for the vertigo to end soon.

“By the sixteen monolithic ones please let this not be my last ride.”

"Corvus! Tell me we're right side up. It still feels like everything is spinning."

"We're good, just get a weapon so we can get these Valisi hounds off our tail." Corvus replied as the ship dipped and banked to avoid another barrage.

Murello pressed the red and purple buttons near the floor activating a mechanism. Something clicked into place as the sitting area of the back seat opened to reveal a cache of weapons. A couple Pangolins, an A.P.R. system, enough Modular Explosive Devices to level several floors and even take down a building, if set at the right places and a Piezo.

He programmed a couple of M.E.D.s before handing them to Corvus. Then picked up the heavy duty psionic artillery cradling it in his arms as he pressed the buttons again closing up the cache. Murello rested the stock of the weapon against his shoulder and opened the cylinder slot on the side of it.

Concentrating he formed Shield after Shield of psychic energy into five millimetre long shells, loading them into the Piezo. He opened the window and leaned out, taking aim at the sleek black Cruisers behind them. Its cannon were preparing to fire when Murello took a deep breath and locked the first shell in the chamber in his mind's eye.

He filled it with PSI, with enough Thunderous energy to rip their assailants to pieces. He pulled the trigger and a yellow javelin flew from the barrel tearing through his intended target and spearing the Cruisers behind it. Splitting them both in half in a cacophony of Thunder and melted metal.  
The remaining four fell back, staying out of range of the Piezo but still following doggedly.

Corvus tossed the M.E.D.s into a chamber in the dashboard and pressed a button to the left of his steering wheel, the metal spheres shot out of a barrel set into the front of the ship and exploded into thick clouds of black smoke. He flipped a switch as the ship dove through the cloud, activating the cloaking system. The puff of dark smoke was blown apart as the invisible ship sailed through it.

The invisible craft dived and silently slid into a hiding spot in a tiered parking lot on a lower altitude as the Valisi flew past overhead. They waited for about half an hour before taking off toward a set of buildings to the west of the Paroketh Wall. A residential area bordered by the Gala Eicoslila, the largest chain of stores and business in the Eicosa district where men and women came from all over the Virindis to waste credits.

They landed on the roof of a towering apartment complex built high to provide ample space for the huddled masses of the multileveled metropolis. Just as they touched down a Gyiyg with snow white fur and long red coat teleported onto the roof and walked toward the ship, radiating a smug aura of self satisfaction as if this world was being honored by his very presence alone.

He opened the door and got in on the passenger side.

“Velodromo, How was the mission?” Murello asked, leaning casually on the Piezo.

The ivory furred Gyiyg pulled out a cobalt colored card as he said. “Went off perfectly, rogue E.I.D. agent dissatisfied with the way the Monarch is running things just leaked some pretty interesting info. Did you two do your part?”

Corvus laughed as he pulled back on the wheel, directing the ship upward. “No problems on our end, this place’ll be crawling with Valisi real soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183222401781/prologue-inanis-est-de-lumine-quae-fit-ex-nihilo


	2. Uncertainty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What can one do but run when the hounds bare down, flashing fangs and fury?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183245711396/chapter-1-uncertainty

\------------------------------

147; 0106 U.V.A.

\------------------------------

Amethyst waves crashed to and fro all around her, Swirling, churning, in an endless dance. With no real beginning and no real end. There was no true rhyme or reason to the ceaseless tumbling of the currents and swells. To the whirlpools and waves. She stood upon the waters as if it were dry land looking out in all directions.

Trying to find something, anything. Seeing only more sea no matter which way she faced. Nothing but sea accompanied by deep grey clouds a suffocating blanket. Smothering any chance at feeling the sun's warm rays; Solaras' embrace.

She couldn't even see the twin moons’ their luminous gaze, casting familiar light. A watchful pair of eyes guiding her on dark nights through the city’s endless alleys and paths. No. Here, there was only the sea and the cruel overcast. Oppressive. Crackling with lightning and thunder overhead, the sound a companion to the rushing water of the tumultuous ocean. Tall tides whipped around her, making her feel smaller than usual. Insignificant, next to indifferent titans.

She couldn't remember how she got here.

If she squinted, she could just see... something. Something shone in the far distance. She began walking in its direction, her paws kicked up water as she made her way toward the reflective gleam. The waves rose high, rushing all around her but strangely enough none splashed up to dampen her. No deluge of water to fall on her head or to soak her fur. To wash uselessly off her poncho. She grabbed the inside of the warm, artificial synthesized fabric draped over her small frame, bundling it up in her fists to knock away the chills' icy grip, its greedy embrace.

The clouds residing over the far off light seemed darker she noticed, the waves more erratic. An ominous warning? A waiting challenge to be surmounted? She couldn't know. What she did know was that she had no other choice but to make her way toward it, some inexorable force pulled her in its direction. She could feel the rolling expanse beneath her. Heaving and rocking back and forth as if it were one great beast. In a sense, it was.

Below the waves, she could just make out the shapes of Krakens and Leviathans. Slithering and flowing beasts beneath the shifting waters. Colossal creatures threatening to snap her up in one single gulp, their massive maws easily dwarfing her paltry body.

At the sight of them a primal fear gnawed at the back of her mind. In a few short seconds they could rush up from the icy depths and devour her with little effort, she pushed these thoughts away and continued on.

There was an awful chill in the air. She could see her breath, and the cold seemed to intensify the closer she got to her goal. There was no wind, but the chill held fast, its heavy hand gripping all. It snatched the warmth away, taking hold in her very bones.

She couldn't remember who she was. Or even how she had gotten here. What was this abnormal place? How long had she been here? How far had she walked? Those questions and mysteries danced through her mind like the monsters submerged in the depths below, as shivers wracked her body. The sounds of her steps on water gradually gave way to the sounds of ice and snow compacted underfoot. The amethyst ocean became a frozen field. Tall waves were held mid-crash in the form of great towers of ice as if an artist had stopped nature’s grand ballad for anyone to observe at their leisure. She gained a running start and threw herself into the cusp of a wave.

The icy surge of water making a tunnel as she slid on its iced-over surface and along its walls gaining momentum, rocketing out of the passage to the top of another still wave.

She was nearly there. She needed only to slide past a few more waves.

The walls of ice surrounding the source of radiance were bathed in its brilliant glow, a stark contrast to the overcast of darkness within this blighted place. A warm gentle gem nestled underneath layers and layers of unfeeling snow and ice.

As she made her way up the last frost-bitten wave, she could finally see it.

The origin of the light was a mirror of titanic proportions. The tip she had seen far off in the distance just barely rose above the frozen sentinels surrounding it. It looked like a shard from a humongous vanity mirror. She slid down the final wave and came to a stop before the piece of glass feeling the warmth it emanated on her face. The object hung motionless in the air just above the ice.

Violet eyes, and deep grey fur that was almost black. A single errant stand of fur, bound by a crystalline hair tube framing her face. Long ears pointed down her back a black poncho hung over her shoulders, a design etched on its front— a stylized crystal with three wings on each side of it. Her tail waved lazily behind her.

Upon seeing herself memory returned suddenly beating back the uncertainty that clouded her mind.

She was Vý of the Gyiyg. She touched the mirror’s reflective surface and was thrust into a vision. An old memory.

_"Lackluster." He spat the words distastefully. "How can she be a runt!? My family has produced generations upon generations of powerful psychics. Every. Last. One!" The Gyiyg’s tail punctuated his every word as it struck the floor while he paced the room. The small babe cooed innocently in her Mother's arms as he raged. Fire was in his eyes—deep, sanguine, twin pools of flame, searing all in sight._

_“This will hinder my efforts to place a contender in the position of Monarch by at least a year, The other two are still in training but I’ll need more assets if I am to stand any chance.”_

_Vý couldn't remember their faces, couldn't remember their names, couldn't remember anything but the colors of their eyes. They were vivid in her mind. The woman in whose arms she rested looked down at her with beautiful azure eyes. Tears ran down her face, dripping onto Vý's tiny forehead. Her mother dried the tears that fell on the child with the blanket she was swaddled in. The Gyiyg with the crimson eyes stopped pacing and stared out the window. He breathed deeply in and out, before saying—_

_"And you dared to name it." His tone was frigid, a tranquil fury, replacing the boisterous anger from before. She couldn't decide which was worse, couldn't decide who she hated more—The man’s indignant rage, that she dared exist in his presence lacking most of the gifts valued by the Gyiyg, or the woman's mewling acceptance of Vý being thrown aside like rotten refuse. Not even fighting back on the child's behalf speaking nary a word in the little one’s defense._

_He made a small motion with his finger and the tiny Gyiyg floated up from the silently weeping Mother’s arms, telekinetically trailing in his wake as he left the room slamming the door._

_“You **are** a set back but there is still use for drab trash such as yourself.”_

\------

"Come out, you drab trash!"

Vý was confused. Where were the frozen wastelands? The Mirror? Then reality settled in as she remembered. She was in her room, on her small cot living her small life. She threw the covers aside and grabbed her black poncho off the hook at her bedside.

Slipping her head through the hole in the middle of the fabric, securing the fasteners on the inside of it that affixed around her waist and just below her arms. She could hear more yelling outside her door as she got dressed.

"Move it, runts!"

She quickly grabbed her hair tube from her nightstand beside the cot, slipping it onto a lock of fur framing her face as she made her way to the door.

Tentatively cracking it open just wide enough to see outside. Four tall Gyiyg of various fur colors, patterns, and heights levitated in the common rest area each wearing a matching visor and full body suit that came up to their neck. Each scanning the room sizing up their prey.

_“A clean-up crew.”_

Vý shut the door as quickly and quietly as she could. Her heartbeat was thrumming in her chest as she went back to the night stand and opened the first drawer, throwing paper and trash here and there. Searching frantically.

_“Where was it? Where!? If Dros had been in her room again she was goin-”_

A loud shriek cut off her train of thought. **That** had sounded like Dros. Seemed like the old fool hadn't taken it. After a few more moments of frantic searching she found what she was looking for. It looked like the scale of a serpentine creature or a dull arrowhead. Holding it in the palm of her hand, mist seemed to flow beneath the surface of the object. She could hear the voices outside getting louder as the telltale sounds of PSI and blaster fire filled the air.

_“The fun’s starting without me,”_ She thought, as a grin spread across her face.

She placed the trinket on the back of her hand and said, "Pangolin. Confirm neurolink."

The object let out a slight hissing noise. Vý winced and the device sank ever so slightly into her fur and flesh. She could smell the singed fur as the A.I. replied, in a digitally tinged voice. "R.I.O.S. activation confirmed. Good morning, Vý. Shall I activate the Helix Cannon armament?"

"Would you be so kind as to, R.I.O.S.?”

A pitch black liquid began to flow out of the Pangolin over her hand and up to her elbow, solidifying and forming into the shape of a cannon. Twin barrels sat side by side where her hand had been just moments before. She started toward the door.

_“I’m going to need to get a new Pangolin with an armor module soon, this weapon only set up nots gonna cut it if the Valisi are cracking down on this part of the city.”_ Thought Vý.

"Mistress, please don't forget your visor."

"What would I do without you?" she asked in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Vý turned back and snatched it from the nightstand, slipping the device over her eyes quickly as she ran out into the fray. A heads up display danced across her vision confirming a successful connection with the Pangolins A.I..

"You would most assuredly die horribly, mistress." the device replied matter-of-factly.

The door slid open as Vý sped towards it. The room outside was a scene of commotion, confusion, and chaos. She felt right at home. The clean up crew had lost one of its members already. His unconscious form was strewn across the floor. The others made a protective perimeter around him throwing up Shields to protect themselves from the smaller Gyiyg’s retaliation. Safeguarding their ally and the spiral staircase in the center of the room; the only access to the lower levels. Autonomous saucer-shaped drones buzzed up the staircase in a seemingly endless wave. A red swarm akin to insects zapping anyone who came too close, they would provide the clean up crew with an inevitable victory through overwhelming numbers.

Three of the machines flew towards her in zig-zagging patterns. She shot the first two down with her Helix Cannon. The energy shots twisted into themselves as they ripped through the air, striking home and exploding in brilliant greens and reds as they collided with their target. The third she commandeered using the wall at her back for leverage as she kicked off of it. Her small, light frame made it easy to gain height. Wrapping her tail around the bottom of the drone and holding herself steady with her free hand as she landed on top of it. The machine shook and spun trying to shake her off to no avail.

“R.I.O.S., overwrite active system controls,” Vý said. Instantly on her visor she could see numerous bars and data readouts. Giving her information on the A.I’s connection with the ship.

The voice of the digital assistant replied back after a few seconds.

“Overwrite successful. Link established.”

She could feel the drone respond to her will. With a thought she was zooming through the air atop the small craft. Flying around the crew, holding their position in the center of the room, and blasting saucers here and there reducing them to smoking heaps. Arriving where she was needed to help other Gyiyg who had taken up positions all around the room. Some stood behind upturned tables, some hid in rooms whose doors had been blasted away in the skirmish ducking out of the doorway to fire on the crew in the center of the room. A few had even copied her tactics of riding atop the saucers, using their assailants’ weapons against them. But it would only be a matter of time before they would all be overwhelmed.

The unyielding tide of the saucers showed no signs of slowing no matter how many they destroyed. Nor did the men in the center of the commotion. Two had their hands up, sustaining the Psionic shield that protected them all while the third was both healing his unconscious team member and flinging destructive blasts of fire and ice out of the bubble that surrounded the three. Her people retaliated in turn letting off PSI attacks and blasts from their weapons, but the barrier held fast.

Someone hiding in one of the rooms lobbed a silver sphere about six inches in diameter at the psychic shield. Before it could collide one of the Gyiyg in the psionic sanctuary put up his hand, stopping the device in midair before returning it back where it came. An explosion shook the building and great gouts of flame rocketed out of the door of the apartment.

“R.I.O.S., send a message to everyone's communication systems. Tell them it’s time to jump ship.”

A small chiming sound denoted a successfully sent message as the notice showed up on her visor.

She started to shoot out the large windows around the circular room one after the other in quick succession. Though she knew there was no other way, it still left a bad taste in her mouth to abandon those lacking Pangolins or mastery of levitation, to their fate. Without either there was no way out of here.

After the last window crumpled, she made a beeline for the closest opening out into Nucade. Out into the Ceaseless City. There were squads of more Armsmen waiting outside, flying after those who attempted to escape and bringing cold psionic wrath down on them. She immediately dived hard as she flew out the broken window, banking left to fly between two buildings hoping to slip away in the confusion. But the clean up crew was thorough, and as she made her way from between the gap in the buildings two of the squad had already broken off in pursuit, trying to strike her out of the air with PSI Beams from above. From the amount of damage they dealt to her surroundings they seemed to be using beta level attacks at least. She turned back to fire on her assailants every now and again but most of her focus was on flying through the city. It was a blur of metal as she sped through traffic, around speeders and cruisers. Past pedestrians on the many pathways that connected to the buildings around her, shopping and living their mundane lives. As if people weren’t being hunted down in the streets like beasts, before their very eyes. She looked back and saw two more of the jumpsuited soldiers had joined in on the chase adding bursts of Thunder to the hail of PSI attacks attempting to strike her from the sky.

Her temporary living quarters was located right on the cusp of the divide between the residential district and the largest cluster of shops and leisure centers this side of the Paroketh Wall. She had thought the increased flow of people looking to waste credits would make it easier to escape but it seemed that today things could only go from bad to worse. What she needed was a distraction, something to divide their attention.

“R.I.O.S., do a search through the map data in this district. Find me the nearest construction area.”

In truth, Vý didn’t need to actually speak aloud her commands to R.I.O.S., as the neurolink from the Pangolin made it so she could use the A.I. with a thought if she wanted too. She just preferred it. Dros had said that she just liked the sound of her own voice. Dros. She hoped that old fool had made it out in one piece. 

After a few more moments of calculating, R.I.O.S gave Vý directions to a nearby structure. “Mistress, there is a location that matches your specifications. I will mark the location on your visors navigation system.”

She could see the waypoint on her H.U.D. It was being built on a high plateau. She’d need some altitude to get there. Vý directed the saucer up, weaving around the walkways that criss-crossed all throughout the district from shop to shop. Blasting some of them as she flew by, showering her pursuers in debris to slow them down.

_“Almost there.”_ She thought.

A wave of fire incinerated a walkway to her right melting and warping the glass and metal into a black burnt pile that collapsed in on itself.

She ceased her ascent flying above most of the larger structures. Though some still dwarfed their neighbors, their tops nestled comfortably in the clouds. Vý saw the fresh construction project. A colossus of interwoven metal, the framework was being shaped by Psionic metallurgists. Bending and placing the refined grel ore, setting the foundation for a new hub of decadent spending. At this height there was nothing but ships, large bulky transports, and slick aerodynamic vehicles cutting through the airways at various speeds. She flew into the flow of ships staying just close enough that the Gyiyg attacking her wouldn’t risk wanton destruction and the lives of the passengers. They were keen not to let her slip away, though. Flying in file, side by side, waiting for an opportunity to strike. She knew the volley would resume the second she broke from traffic. With a thought she transformed the cannon on her arm, shifting it from a pair to a single barreled weapon and lengthening the shaft for a more long-ranged capacity. She took aim at one of the soldiers in the middle of the formation, an orange-furred Gyiyg with a long slender tail. Her shot of energy took them in the shoulder sending them careening down into the city below. Their allies hesitated for just a second, but it was all she needed as she quickly broke off from traffic and made her way to the construction site. Vý was surprised to find the other three members of the squad had elected to continue pursuit and not see to the wounded Gyiyg.

"Make way! Valisi dogs on the hunt!" she yelled as she sped into the construction site, trying to warn the workers of the incoming danger. They scattered flying off in all directions echoing the warning to their coworkers. The army’s foot soldiers were notorious for their lack of mercy toward transgressors, and she didn't want anyone else to be caught in the crossfire when she brought this place crashing down. Let the merchants, nobles, C.E.O.s and investors foot the bill. Her three pursuers were right on her tail trying and failing to blast her with psionic attacks as she flew around the metal jungle. Sparks burst from every direction as the attacks rained down around her, only just missing their target. Thunder rending the thick beams into shards as they struck, hungry. Relentlessly attempting to devour her.

"R.I.O.S., what's the structural integrity of this scrap heap?"

"Readings indicate the damage has brought the structural integrity down to 22%. Collapse is imminent."

She made a break for the nearest exit to the construction site turned death trap, shifting her cannon back to its double barrel variant and blasting blindly as she went. The building swayed dangerously and the sounds of falling metal and snapping support beams followed in her wake. Surprisingly, the Valisi soldiers still attempted to attack her even as the building fell. She had to admit they were determined, if nothing else.

As Vý reached the end of the monolithic framework of grel, she hovered just out of reach as it all came tumbling down. The bottom buckled in a titanic crash, sending a shockwave from the base all the way up to the top and with nothing to keep it upright the structure began to cave in on itself. She turned to fly away when a final PK Beam seemingly from nowhere, rocketed out from the construction site. It tore effortlessly through the drone that had become her makeshift vehicle. As she fell into one of the maintenance shafts that connected Nucade to the planet’s surface below, she could just make out the form of a lone Gyiyg among the falling beams of metal. She was no empath, but even she could sense the intense waves of hatred coming from the Highgard. The last thing she saw was the soldier being crushed by several pieces of building and then, she saw nothing as she fell into a pit of everlasting darkness.


	3. Black Omens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our great lady beckons, will you answer the call from those on high? The greater question still is; would you have a choice?

\------------------------------

147; 0106 U.V.A.

\------------------------------

Beneath the colossal construct of the artificial sky; a projection emitted to simulate the bright sun. There lay a world cut off from space entirely, a world left behind to the seemingly infinite advances of technology and the city that sprang up from its advent. Nish looked out her window as a cloud lazily floated through the air. She marked her place folding the corner of a page and set her book down on the table, Rising to stretch her legs, back, and tail.

_“Maybe it’s time to tend the gardens,get some fresh air.”_

Raised voices came from outside as she walked out into her backyard to investigate. Gyiyg were pointing toward the sky as they came out of their own homes, drawn in by the rising commotion.

She looked up and as she squinted she saw something falling from the sky.

She began to levitate taking off into the air, her toga billowing in the wind as she picked up speed to investigate the anomaly coming toward the island. It was too small to be a ship of any kind, even a speeder. And as she got near, she could make out the features of a Gyiyg woman. She had dark grey fur and wore a black poncho with a couple of tears in it. Nish reached out and caught the unconscious girl.

She descended back down to the floating island, a large crowd forming around her as she and the mysterious visitor touched down onto land. Nish walked briskly towards her house, ignoring the onlookers as she entered through the back door and placed the small Gyiyg onto her bed. Pulling up a stool at the bedside and holding her hand out toward the girl. Nish closed her eyes and a blue green pulse of energy began to surround her hands, waves of healing PSI poured into the sleeping Gyiyg’s body, mending her wounds with Lifeup.

From what Nish could sense, her injuries were minor--a scrape here, a bruise there, but nothing too alarming apart from a bump on the head she must’ve sustained when falling into one of the chutes that led from the city above to the planet below and subsequently her floating island.

She could still hear the murmurs of conversation from the growing crowd in her backyard, as more and more people filled the doorway while she concentrated on healing the girl.

“If you all have time to gawk, can one of you please go get Ezra?” Nish said sternly.

“No need my child, I am already here,” came as an unexpected reply. She had not sensed nor heard the Elders approach, so absorbed in the healing was she.

The crowd parted and a tall Gyiyg ducked under the doorway as he entered the cozy home. The many whispered conversations fell into silence as he made his presence known. He was an imposing figure by sheer height alone. His fur was a dull red shade, his eyes were copper colored. And he shared the familiar hooded white toga and wooden staff all monks of the order held. Ezra’s snout was of a medium length. There was scar across the bridge of his nose and another on the side of his neck that stretched up far to his face. It was obvious that in his younger days, this man had seen much conflict and war; his eyes held a quiet patience that could only be gained from a long life of experience.

“Who is our visitor?” Ezra asked, grabbing one of the chairs from the table by the window and taking a seat next to Nish, leaning back with a sigh of relief. Time spared none, and the years had taken their toll and then some on the old Gyiyg’s bones.

“I don’t know her name yet, I caught her as she was falling from the sky.” She replied.

“Very well, after you’ve finished healing her we shall peer into her mind and gather information on what has led her here.”

Nish nodded, focusing on the task at hand. A few minutes later she finished tending to the woman's injuries. By then, Ezra had shooed away the last of the nosey monks gathered in her backyard. She couldn’t blame them though, not much happened here and any new development was met with curiosity. Especially someone plummeting from the upper city.

“Grab your staff, my child, we’ve a mindscape to explore.” The old monk said in a jovial tone.

Nish did as she was told, mimicking Erza; staff in left hand, right hand outstretched toward the miniscule Gyiyg sleeping comfortably in the bed in the corner of the room. At her bedside they sat, concentrating on forming the psionic energy within them, bending and shaping it.

She could feel their combined wills flowing and melding together, the slight rush of exhilaration at tapping into this power deep inside. Then the cool assured tempering of that exhilaration, that passion, into what she desired it to be.

“Are you prepared, my child?” The elder asked.

Nish nodded and they both began mentally reaching toward the girl’s mind, delving into her subconscious.

\---

_ “Awaken, Granddaughter, we’ve much to discuss.” _

Vý woke with a gasp, confusion clouding her mind. The first thing she saw was the return of the deep grey clouds of her dreams, a suffocating overcast.

“Great, I’m back here again. Solara only knows where **here** is.”

As she sat up, she noticed she was laying on the giant glass shard she had seen when last she was here. It was now suspended high in the air, overlooking the frozen sea below. She stared out into the infinite static sea that stretched out in all directions, unmoving.

_ “You’ve no one to blame but yourself for the dull look of this place.” _

Vý turned to the sound of the voice behind her as a figure rose from the mirror she stood on, floating up out of it and levitating before her. The owner of the voice was a towering Gyiyg whose fur was stark white, so much so that it was almost painful to look upon. In their hand they held a staff, seemly made of a wooden material. A pair of wings topped the staff, and between the wings was a crystal and a helix encasing it. They wore a long white poncho with ornate golded designs stitched along its edge. Their eyes were pupiless and energy seemed to flow from them like heavy smoke billowing away from a forge. Around their neck was a golden torc and a necklace that held a duplicate to the ring already on her neck; this second one; black and red was held on a golden thread.

If one were to describe this being, an apt explanation would be to liken it to breathing marble.

“How is it my fault that this place is so drab?” She grimaced as she realized what she said only just after the words had left her mouth. She hated that word.

_ “Who else could be blamed for the state of Magicant but the owner of it?” _

“Magicant? This can’t be Magicant! That’s just a fairytale to tell children as they go off to bed. Filling their tiny heads with dreams of imaginary worlds.”

_ “Child, Magicant is as real as the city you live in, or the air you breathe,” _

The being said with a chuckle as if explaining something simple to a small child.

“And what’s with this ‘Granddaughter’ talk? I’m not exactly close with my family, and even if I was I’ve never seen a Gyiyg with no pupils--” Vý narrowed her eyes as if she was trying to peer into the gods very being. “--**Who** exactly are you?”

_ “Excuse me for not introducing myself properly, Granddaughter. I am Caedin Mil, Lady of the Sundered Veil. And I refer to you as such because I am your world’s matron. I represent Enkei’s natural energy, the source of your psychic abilities.” _

“So, what, you’re some type of...goddess?” Vý asked sounding doubtful.

_ “In a manner of speaking, yes, you would not be wrong to refer to me as such.” _

Vý’s arms were crossed, a look of skepticism plain on her face as she replied in a mocking tone.

“Right, you’re a goddess, and I’m the merchant lord of Neveous.”

_ “What would it take to convince you?” _

The entity asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“Show me something only you could possibly know about.”

Caedin snapped her fingers and images flashed inside of the mirror she had floated out of. Vý sat down, arms still crossed as she watched the slide show of her life. Thousands upon thousands of moments flashed by, bits and pieces of an existence filled with struggle and perseverance.

_ “Ah, this moment should suffice. Tell me, Granddaughter did you ever forget their last words?” _

Vý’s heart thudded in her chest as she realized which moment this so-called 'goddess' had chosen. Suddenly her mouth was dry and cold fear washed through her.

And as the memory played in the mirror, it seemed Caedin had decided Vý would need a closer look at her past. The small, gray Gyiyg sank into the glass as if it were water, but without the physical sensation, it felt as though the ground had suddenly given way.

She was thrust head first into the memory. An unwilling captive yanked through remembrance, Vý could do nothing but watch what had already been done with sick anxiety sitting in her gut at what was to come. She couldn’t look away, couldn’t close her eyes, as she was made a passenger in her own body to re-live that day.

Vý left her room as Auntie Vera had called her down for lunch a few minutes earlier. The young Gyiyg walked down the hallway until she heard raised voices. “Give us the credits old woman! We know you used to run with the Five!”

Followed by a loud bang and a scream that stopped her in her tracks._“Please, not again.”_ Vý thought.

_ “Go, little one, find out what fate has befallen your caregiver.” _

Caedin’s stony voice rang in her ears, the sound seemingly coming from every direction in an emotionless tone that sent a chill down her spine, a chill far colder than the icy sea of her mindscape or even the frost bitten tundras of the planet Angora.

The little girl hurried to the stairs and began going down them two at a time, almost tripping in her haste. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw them. Two Gyiyg: one in full Pangolin armor and another wearing a cloak, holding a Burner, the barrel still glowing red hot from the recently fired shot.

Time seemed to slow. In the kitchen, slumped over the sink with a gaping, smoking hole in her back was Auntie Vera. Vý’s mind went blank as took in the gruesome scene.

“Get that ki-” The armored Gyiyg’s words were cut off as both he and his partner were lifted off their feet, secured in a titanic telekinetic grip.

“I’ve seen enough, Caedin, end this vision!” Vý called out, but her plea was ignored.

Vý still standing at the foot of the stairs held them both in the place with her mind, keeping them from moving even an inch. Barely even letting them breathe.

With a simple thought; a flexing of her mental muscle she surrounded them each with a psionic shield

_ “What punishment will this child inflict, I wonder?” _

The cruel goddess mused, though they both knew the answer.

The small girl slowly started closing her fists, tears streaming down her face and pure rage in her tiny heart. Responding to her physical action the shields began to decrease in size, slowly crushing the intruders as they threatened, bargained and begged in their last moments. Their pleas falling on deaf ears.

Before she knew it, Vý was back sitting on the giant mirror overlooking the frozen wastes, breathing heavily, visibly shaken from reliving the old memory. It was a long time before she found her voice and spoke up once again.

“It seems goddess’ have a...**unique** sense of humor.”

_ “Do not attribute your preconceived mortal notations to my actions, Granddaughter, I simply chose to use the most effective memory to make my point. I’ve a task for you and for that task to be completed we must come to an understanding as quickly as possible. I doubt you would’ve wanted them to see your most private of moments.” _

“Wanted who t-” From behind her, she heard the rustling of cloth and felt a slight breeze blow at her back. It was warm, a stark contrast to anything within the frozen wastes of her mind. The smell of soil and flowers wafted in its wake. When she turned around, there stood two more Gyiyg a few feet behind her: one older with red fur and eyes the color of copper, the other with pale yellow fur whose eye color resembled amber, both wearing togas and holding staffs identical to Caedin’s.

“Friends of yours?” Vý inquired.

Before Caedin could answer her, the two monks approached.

_ “Greetings, my Grandchildren, Sunder the veil.” _

The both replied in unison bowing as they said. “Greetings, Grandmother, and view with true sight.”

Vý looked on at the exchange, suspicion etched in her every movement arms still crossed, foot tapping impatiently on glass tail wagging back and forth like a metronome.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t get your name, Sister,” Nish said as she turned to Vý, putting out her hand for a friendly shake. The small Gyiyg refused the gesture, keeping her arms crossed as she replied quickly in a curt tone. “Vý.”

“...” The silence dragged for a few moments longer on before Caedin cut in.

_ “Do not mind her, she has had an...interesting day.” _

“Grandmother, if it is not beyond my station to know, why do you dwell in the mind of this visitor from Nucade?” Ezra asked.

_ “I’ve a task for her that is of the utmost importance to the fate of the Gyiyg and the Virindis as a whole. Take a seat, my children.” _

Nish and Ezra both sat down legs crossed, staffs placed at their sides.While Vý stood. Caedin had the floor.

_ “The city above is a veritable cesspool of conflict brewing with opportunity. Our visitor--” _

The psychic entity gestured toward Vý with her staff.

_ “--is one born of and tempered by this conflict. One made to persevere through all thrown her way and carve out her own path in this mire of uncertainty.” _

With another wave of her staff, the mirror beneath them showed a recollection of the earlier day’s events: the assault on the runt’s home, the mass of drones, and Gyiyg striking from every direction. The carnage as those who fought back were cut down and those who did not were taken to parts unknown. It showed Vý fighting off her pursuers and her trip down to the planet beneath the shell city that surrounded it. Caedin banged the bottom of the staff on the glass and the moving images stopped, capturing the moment Nish had caught Vý. Then the mirror returned to normal showing only their reflections.

_ “Do you know, Granddaughter, why these armed forces descended on your home in this fashion?” _

“Obviously because we’re runts. Low class. Troublemakers."

_ “Runts. Lackluster. Drab. Yes, there are many unsavory descriptions used to put you down. And I’m sure you’ve heard them enough throughout your life. But a collection of Runts is not enough reason to draw attention and firepower of this caliber. They were after one specific Gyiyg.” _

_ “Brachycephaly. Quad Ears. Split Tails. Melanism. Albinism. Alabaster Patches. Runts. These are the mutations that are known to occur at birth, some see them as defects; others see them as exotic. But few have heard of an eighth, and even fewer believe it to be true.” _

Vý cut in abruptly. “There’s some other mutation? Another reason for Gyiyg to turn against Gyiyg?”

_ “Correct, Granddaughter--another whose genetic makeup is finely tuned to the use of PSI. Even more so than all the others. And it is this power the rulers of your city wish to exploit for their own gain. It is this power that called down the might of the ‘Valisi dogs’ as you call them.” _

“So some coward decided to use our living space as a hideout and I got accidentally caught in the crossfire? What does that have to do with this task you’ve got for me?”

_ “Nothing is accidental, my child. I see the currents of causality as plainly as you see me standing before you. The veil is vast, but the echos are easy to follow if you know what sounds to listen for. I require that you seek out more of these special Gyiyg for me upon your return to Nucade City.” _

“What reason would I have to do this? I see no gain in this venture, **entity.**” The last word was said with disdain, vitriol. Vy’s eyes were cold, her stance openly confrontational. She had stopped tapping her foot, but her tail still swayed behind her aggressively.

_ “If you assist me in this task, I will in turn assist you in changing Nucade for the better, for the Runts and all Gyiyg of the Virindis system. Making it so no one will again have to experience what you yourself have gone through; this hardship born of something that you could not control.” _

Vy’s tail stopped swaying and Caedin smiled, the first change of expression Vý had seen her make during the whole conversation.

_ “It seems I now have your attention. That is good enough for now. Return to the waking realms and rest. I will have need of you soon.” _

The last thing Vý heard was Caedin snapping her fingers as she awoke in a small house. The evening sun filtered through a open window and birdsong could be heard from outside it was a high melody that told of freedom and joy. The two monks that had invaded on her conversation with the specter were waking as well, their eyes fluttering open as Vý lay there inspecting the dwelling. The walls were made of stone. In the far corner of the room was the front door and table with several chairs and a window beside it. To the right of the table was an old wood-burning stove, a deep black color from continual use over many years, above it were numerous cabinets and spice racks. In the middle of the room was a pillar holding up a tent that draped over the house making up its roof. It was...quaint.

The older Gyiyg was the first to break the silence as he rose from his chair, telekinetically lifting it as he stood and slid it into its place at the table.

“Our Lady of the Sundered Veil has given me a task as well. It’s best I get to it right away. My child, look after our visitor while I see to this,” Erza said as he made his way toward the door.

Vý tried to sit up, wincing as her muscles burned in protest.

“Hold on, you must rest! I’ve healed a lot of the damage, but you must let the energy do its work in repairing you.” Nish attempted to gently push Vý back down to no avail.

She sat up, hanging her legs over the side of the bed, getting a better look at Nish’s home. As Ezra made his way outside and closed the door he called through the window, “By the way, Nish, I’m sending Kella over.”

Nish ran to the window, sticking her head out and yelling back, “Ezra, no! Don’t I have enough to deal with!?” But the old Gyiyg was already gone down the pathway, humming a jaunty tune.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183467182191/chapter-2-black-omens
> 
> *Caedin, was supposed to have colored text in this chapter, but I couldn't get it to work here. Check out the tumblr link to see how it was suppose to look.


	4. Fractals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An infinite framework hidden just beneath the surface reaches out to touch every facet of reality.

\------------------------------

147; 0106 U.V.A.

\------------------------------

With an upright view, Vý could get a better look at the interior of the monk’s home. She saw a chest at the foot of the bed, and that the floors were hardwood. Along the walls were several bookshelves lined with tomes, and the scent of flowers hung heavy in the air, giving the room a sweet scent. That was pleasent without being overbearing. 

Vý wasn’t in pain, but she felt...lethargic like she had eaten a large meal and wanted nothing more than to sleep. She fought against the heaviness in her eyelids, not knowing if rest would result in another meeting with Caedin._ “I’m in no hurry to meet that specter again. Who knows if it’ll thrust me into another nightmare?”_

“Monk, do you have anything to drink in here?” Her voice was dry and raspy.

Nish hesitated, obviously not happy with this situation; Both Vý’s rude attitude and the knowledge of Kella’s imminent arrival. She walked over to the cabinets above the stove and grabbed a tall cup. From where Vý was sitting, she could see a large box next to the stove. Nish lifted the lid off of the box and reached inside, pulling out a pitcher to pour a drink for her guest.

“Here” she said as she handed Vý the cup of water. “And my name is Nish, Sister.”

The short, grey Gyiyg downed the whole thing in three quick gulps, handed Nish back the cup and laid back down. “How about you don’t call me ‘Sister’ and I won’t call you ‘Monk’. Deal?”

Nish placed the cup into a basin to be washed later and sat down at her table, opening her book back to the page she had left off on. 

“Fair enough,” she shrugged, looking for the spot on the page she had last read, when the front door swung open not five minutes later. There stood another Monk of the Order of the Sundered Veil. Same staff, same toga. On his arms, marked into his teal fur with a black dye, was a looping, repeating pattern of squares then circles, in a sequence going up to his shoulders. 

“Good morning, Sister!”

“Kella,” Nish replied in a indifferent tone, not looking up from her book. “Get out.”

“Why so cold, Sunshine?” he inquired as he strolled into the house, closing the door behind him and propping his staff against a wall.

She marked her place in the book before setting it down on the table. “Because the last time you were here, you called me a ‘ignorant slag beast’ and sent a chair through my front door.”

“Can’t we let bygones be bygones?”

Nish groaned as she rubbed her temples, trying to stem the tide of a rapidly approaching headache, “That was yesterday.”

“Well, we won’t talk about politics,” the teal Gyiyg said, a small grin spreading across his face.

“Besides, I replaced the door.” He sat down at the chair opposite to Nish. “Old man Ezra sent me over here and I brought a peace offering.” 

Kella reached inside his robes, removing a parcel from within. A small brown wooden box with a string tied around it, keeping it closed. He deftly undid the knot and removed the lid. Inside was a cloth bundle cradling small pure white pieces of fried dough, each one topped with an orange frosting.

Nish got up, grabbing a bowl from the cabinet and filling it with several of the cakelets Kella had brought before walking over to Vý. “We serve others, thereby serving ourselves.” She held out the bowl to her. “Try some Sist-...Vý.”

Vý leaned up from the bed, turning and propping her back against the wall as she took the offered bowl of treats, popping one into her mouth. Kella came over from the spot at the table to join them.

“And we serve ourselves by learning to forgive, right my Sister?” 

Nish stared daggers at the other Monk, before replying grudgingly.

“Fine, Brother, you are forgiven.” 

“Your kindness knows no bounds,” he said with a slight bow.

“Now, I believe introductions are in order.” He turned to Vý. “I am Kella the Immaculate. Pleased to meet you, Little Sister.” 

Vy stopped mid-chew, speaking around a mouthful of sweets. “I’m not one of your sisters.”

A few seconds of silence went by before realization dawned on her.

“Wait, did you just call me ‘**Little**’ Sister?”

Kella laughed, a booming, boisterous noise that echoed through the house. 

“For a moment I thought you’d let that slip.” 

Nish was giggling, covering her mouth as she, too, was mid-chew, caught off guard by Vý’s incredulous reaction. 

“Now, now, no need to get worked up,” Kella said, putting his hands up.

Vý looked as if she was going to whip the bowl at him, snack cakes and all. “As Sister Sunshine will attest to, I give everyone here a nickname.”

He pulled a chair over from the table with telekinesis, sitting down as he wrapped his tail around one of the legs of the chair. Nish sat on the edge of the bed, turning to Vý as she said, “The more you fight the name, the worse it’ll get. My advice is to roll with it. That’s what I did.”

Vý nibbled on another one of the round frosted treats, chuckling to herself. She could see now why Nish had reacted the way she had upon hearing that this ‘Kella the Immaculate’ was on his way. The man grated against her nerves, that much was for sure. But he had a way about him, a bold self-assuredness that was somewhat infectious.

“So, what’s this task that you’ve been bestowed with by our Lady?” Kella asked.

Vý set the bowl down in her lap. “I’m not sure. She was being all mysterious--what was it she had said?” She asked turning to Nish. 

Nish recited the God’s words. “The veil is vast, but the echoes are easy to follow if you know what sounds to listen for.”

Vý nodded her head. “Right, and she said something about improving the Virindis for Gyiyg everywhere.”

“That seemed to get your attention.” Nish noted.

“Well...I’ve had it pretty rough for most of my life. If by doing the entity’s little errand I can change Nucade for the better, I’d have to be a fool not to.”

“And we come back to the original question; **What** exactly is this task?” Kella interjected.

“Grandmother also brought up that she wanted Vý to seek out those of the ninth mutation.” Nish said.

“I just don’t understand why she wants me to do it. Why not one of you? I’m not a part of whatever it is you all do here.” 

“She probably wants to use your specific unified intrinsic field to manipulate things, in minute ways we have no way of knowing, Little Sister.” 

“...You lost me at ‘unified intrinsic’,” the dark grey Gyiyg replied.

Nish chimed in, excitied. “In the Order, we are taught about the metaphysical and geometric unifying factors of all things, how nothing is separate and that all is but a small piece of the collective. By changing the internal, you affect the external. Cells affecting particles affecting atoms affecting molecules affecting infinitesimally small strings vibrating to sing the tones that make up everything. Unified on every level. Infinitely large and infinitely small unlimited fractals folding outward and inward to create a path leading to and from the same source. A repeating pattern across every scale of reality creating cosmic symmetry.”

She gave the monks a blank stare. “That tells me nothing.”

Vý turned to Kella as he said, “All right, let me try and make it understandable. Imagine a circle or a sphere.”

Kella held up his hand, manifesting a ring of fire floating in the center of his palm. “This is the only thing in existence. It is pure static unity, but it cannot move in any direction, because there is nothing relative to it. To be able to move, you need the concepts of moving closer to, or farther from something.”

Suddenly a second ring appeared, a perfect twin of the first.

“So our circle replicates itself, and its diameter lines up perfectly with the first circle’s center, creating duality.” 

The two circles slid toward each other until they overlapped, the edge of the first nestled in the center of the second, creating perfect symmetry.

“In the center of these two circles is a new shape, a new seed born from the dichotomy of one in balance with itself.”

The shape in the center of the circles looked like a almond, Vy noticed as she listened intently.

“It goes by many names; The Vesica Piscis, The First Lens, The Nest of Light, Trion Ray, The Genesis Pattern. The most appropriate name, however, is The Seed of Life. And if we add five more circles, repeating the process in the same way as the first, we see this seed sixfold.”

More and more rings appeared, folding into the original structure, till the circles overlaid to form a pattern akin to a flower. Six ‘Seeds of Life’ in the center of seven overlapping circles, one in the middle and six folded over each other to create something new as they crossed. Adjacent to each other in and perfect balance at the center circle were six of the almond shaped ‘seeds’. 

“This is the Flower of Life or the Egg of Life, This pattern is both infinite and finite, as you can repeat this process as many times as you like, but the seeds will always perfectly fit within the circle. And as you add more circles, you gain more patterns or information that allows you to see more of the nature of reality. For instance, if this model was made of spheres and spun around the central point, it would create a image signifying a Tube Torus, a representation of the energy field that flows out from the heart and back to its central point, infinitely born from the space that is both void and awareness; two points overlapping to create consciousness very much like the two circles we began with.”

More circles were added to the outer ring, adding on the original seven till there were thirteen, and then thirty-seven. An expanding grid, still housing the original shape inside, the flower repeated over and over again in waves going outward.

“Now here is where we get a little esoteric.”

Vý scoffed before eating another one of the doughy treats in her bowl, licking the frosting from her fingertips. “Oh, please do, it was so straightforward before this point that I was beginning to nod off.” 

Kella continued on with a slight smirk lining his face.

“To reach the next step we must adjust our model.” The circles slowly began to fade away till there were only thirteen. Five down the middle, and two going out from the center in diagonal directions. Six circles surrounding one in the middle, and a circle on the outside of the six protecting the one.

“This is the Fruit of Life, If I were to connect the center of each circle to every other one with a straight line it would create what is known as Metatron’s Cube, a diagram holding every possible shape.”

Lines of fire linked the thirteen circles.

As these roads of flame met, intricate shapes played before Vys eyes. The outermost shape was a hexagon, but inside the ‘fruit’ was a tapestry of lines and geometric forms that seemed to balance the whole and reflect the numerous variations as they ran from the center of each ring out to every other one in the network. 

“Within this, we have the Hexahedron,” A cube emblazoned itself to the forefront of the schema.

“The Tetrahedron,” A triangle flashed by next, the three points connected by lines, a long one from the topmost point, and two shorter ones from the bottom points to meet perfectly.

“The Octahedron,” This time two triangles parallel to each other appeared, one right side up and one upside down there bottoms joined by a line. From how the additional lines met up at its peak and sides, it was plain to see that this shape had eight sides. Though she could not see them, she knew this was a two dimensional representation of the three dimensional shape.

She was beginning to wrap her mind around how these concepts fit together.

“The Icosahedron,” This one was more defined. Again it was comprised of triangles but it had more definition, folding the last shape in new ways. 

“_This one has to have twenty sides at least. From the size, shape, and structure of it._” She thought.

“And last the is the Dodecahedron.” A geometric shape formed out of the psionic heat. Pentagons flashed into view, forming the model. This one was the closet to a ball, though still angular and flat on its many five sided faces.

He extinguished the fire with a flick of his wrist.

“These five shapes are the Platonic Solids, and are the five pillars on which everything is supported, the fractals that stack on top of each other to build life and consciousness. These repeating patterns can be seen at the subatomic levels. By plotting the course of the components of electrons, protons, and neutrons, we see this infinite blueprint played out. The Unified Intrinsic Field of reality is what pulls these components together and forms consciousness, affecting everything around it in perfect harmony.”

Vý sat in silence, contemplating the enormity of this new understanding of the nature of life.

“Now how does this relate to the specter?”

“The specter?” Kella replied in a inquiring tone, brow furrowed in confusion.

Nish answered “That is what she calls Grandmother.” 

“Not to fond of her, eh? No matter, as long you take care of her quest she won’t bat an eye.” 

The teal Gyiyg grabbed another cakelet and ate it as he said.

“I’m going to have to start charging you for these lessons, Little Sister.” 

He turned to Nish. “ Sunshine? Would you mind grabbing a wooden board for me?”

Nish lifted her hand and one of the many cabinets above the stove opened up and out floated a cutting board. She held it in midair next to Kella, who lit another fire in front of it, casting shadows. 

“This is only my theory and it’s not been explored, like the many secrets of Sacred Geometry, so take it with a grain of salt.” 

“You can see my hand plain as day with all its curves and dimension, but if I shine a light on it...” He held fire in one hand and the other in front of the board. “It casts a shadow; still the same shape, but in the transition from three dimensions to two, as the shadow is overlaid on the board, something is lost. Now to a being that is purely two dimensional, the shadow is all that is there. They would have no way of knowing that what they saw was not all there is to reality and nothing but an imperfect representation. I believe that Caedin Mil--”

Vy noticed he had not called the god ‘Grandmother’ this time, sounding gravely serious.

“--is a entity above our natural state of being. One on a higher octave, one who moves in a way not wholly understood, into a realm our minds have no way of comprehending. A different wavelength relative to the one we are born into, a frequency we are not attuned to.”

“I believe that Our Lady comes from a higher realm. One we can scarcely imagine.” Kella let the fire fade and grabbed the board out of the air, placing it on the bed. 

”That is what she means when she says that she can see the echoes. These are the reverberations making up the harmony and structure holding up all reality. And we can only see the shadows of a shape we have no way of understanding.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183505607961/chapter-3-fractals


	5. Sunder the Veil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Through what lense can one see the purest truths?

\------------------------------

147; 0106 U.V.A.

\------------------------------

“Sounds a bit ominous when you put it like that,” Vý said.

The evening sun washed through the windows as it set, bathing Nish’s home in twilight heralding the approaching night. Nish got up, grabbing the board and bowl from Kella and Vý respectively. She placed the wooden cutting board away in one of the cabinets and the bowl in the basin. 

“She is the one who brought this knowledge to us long ago. It has served its purpose and given us great insight, but to what end has always been my question.” Kella said.

Nish opened the front of the stove and placed a few logs inside before combusting them with PK Fire. The scent of burning wood immediately filled the house replacing the floral scent, as she got together ingredients to begin dinner, pulling down jar after jar of spices and seasonings. They danced through the air around her as she multitasked, her mind acting as a extra pair of hands telekinetically grabbing this and that, plates and knives, forks and glasses, placing them at the designated spots at the table.

She lifted the lid off of the icebox next to the stove, pulling out three portions of meat and dropping them into a pan while placing a pot on the stove top. She waved her hand over the pot, and ice materialized inside, quickly melting as it rose rapidly in temperature.

“She gave us this information so that we may bring light to others,” Nish replied, adding another sprinkle of seasoning to the roasting meat.

“Ever the optimist, Sunshine, but I highly doubt our Grandmother is wholly altruistic.”

Nish added some vegetables to the boiling water. “I’m sure she has our best interests at heart.”

Vý scoffed, turning it into a slight chuckle. “I have a feeling she’s only concerned with her own interests.”

A tense silence followed Vý’s remark. And for a long time the only sounds were the sizzling of the meat cooking and the crackling of the fire on the stove.

Vý turned to Kella. “So...uh...that’s everything you can tell me about all of this?”

He shook his head. “Of course not, Little Sister, our lessons are not so short that I could casually explain them all in an afternoon. I’ve left out many things for the sake of time.”

He began to count on his fingers. “There’s Phi, The Fibonacci, Binary Sequences, The Polar Graph, Toroidal Flow, Singularities...”

Nish joined in counting off other items, “Causality, The Cuboctahedron, Consciousness...”

They went back and forth taking turns listing off subjects. “Vector Equilibrium.”

“64 sided Tetrahedrons,”

“Fractals,”

“The Archimedean Solids.”

Vý put out her hand, signaling for them to stop. “Alright you two, I get it; the mysteries of the universe are multifaceted and vast.”

The yellow-furred Gyiyg filled the glasses at the table as she said, "Dinner's ready.”

Vý and Kella came over from the bed and sat down at the table, thanking Nish for her work in the kitchen, and as the simulated sun slinked away behind the horizon, making way for the placeholder moon, conversation turned away from the esoteric and the omnius toward the jovial. After a while Kella made his way home and the two Gyiyg made preparations for bed.

Nish removed a large blanket and spare pillow from the chest at the foot of her bed, making a sleeping area on the floor, insisting that her guest take the bed. And as Vý laid on the comfy bed with a full stomach she drifted off to sleep quickly, hoping this time her dreams would not take her to frozen wastes.

\---

Night came swift over the rolling highlands, as patrols of Valisi stalked the perimeter of the massive rock tower surrounded by hilly grasslands. Laphon looked down at the camp of soldiers he had brought with him. From the window of the hollowed-out stone structure, he could see the squads grouped together with two men from each set to secure the area every twenty or so minutes walking from one end of the camp to the other. He was highly doubtful that they’d encounter anything more than wildlife, but it helped to keep them sharp. 

“Report, Professor,” the jet-black Gyiyg ordered, not turning from his view at the window.

A dark green Mook wearing a black cloak tapped the holographic screen that emanated from a Pangolin on his wrist, or what could be considered a ‘wrist’ on a tentacle. When he touched the screen, a page of information rose to the forefront. 

“Sir. Our tests have been overall positive. We’ve been able to mimic the brainwaves of the captured subjects and replicate them in new, stronger forms. Our only problem is lack of material to construct the new frames.”

Laphon turned from the window. “The excavation hasn’t given you enough material?”

“No, Sir, the Kial Hill-lands have never been a good source of grel ore and I find myself without the manpower to get what I need from the underground mines.”

“Very well.” Laphon tapped a finger to the back of his hand as he walked over to the Mook, accessing the data within his Pangolin full body armor. A blue, transparent card formed in his hand and he handed it to the Professor. 

“This hardlight card has my armor signature hardcoded into it. Go down to the camps and recruit as many men as you need, and tell them that those working in the mine will receive double pay and extra rations of Xilian Thunder-brew.”

He sat down at a desk in the center of the empty circular room. The only thing in the space its dark metal was a contrast to the smooth, featureless stone walls of the room. The desk was covered with stacks and stacks of hardlight sheets.

Right before the green alien got to the door, the Gyiyg called out to him. “Phelldor?”

Phelldor stopped, turning to look directly into the soldier’s dark blue eyes. He felt as if the Gyiyg had pinned him to that spot with nothing more than a glace, like a bird of prey zeroing in on its next target. 

“I expect to hear good things from you. Do not rush in an effort to appease me as quickly as possible. Take your time, for this work is vital to the Virindis.” 

“Yes, Sir.” The green mook said with a nod of his head before excusing himself. 

After a few moments, Laphon tapped the back of his hand pulling up several screens in front of him. “R.I.O.S., begin transcribing today’s reports.”

A digital voice began to speak. “Report number one seven five nine eight three: Suspect wanted for fleeing capture, destruction of public property, the injury of one Valisi operative and the death of another. Last known location: construction site in Lower Nucade near the northeastern side of the Eicosa district.”

Pictures of destroyed walkways and collapsed piles of metal beams from numerous angles flashed onto every screen. “R.I.O.S., does the subject have any ties to the Vimmer Penta?”

“No known ties found between the subject and the Vimmer Penta.”

“Show me the clearest picture we have of the suspect.”

An image of a small, dark grey Gyiyg balanced on top of a saucer drone dominated the center screen. 

“How many escaped from the raid? Not counting the suspect.”

A moment passed as the A.I. computed the answer to Laphon’s question, reviewing all the other reports in its database.

“Two.” 

For all intents and purposes, it seemed to be a successful raid. So why did this one loose thread bother him so much? “R.I.O.S., identify the Gyiyg in the picture. Pull up their criminal history if there is one.”

“Suspect’s name is Vý . Scanning database for criminal history.”

_"Where have you fled?"_

\---

Morning came soon as the light in the sky rose in sync with the real sun, making sure all citizens of the planet, even those still living on the world below had a tie to the solar schedule of the system. Vý awoke to the sounds of Nish chopping some type of fruit on her cutting board. 

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched, feeling the popping of the joints in her arms as the drowsiness of the long night’s rest ebbed. 

Nish stored the diced fruit in a small bowl with a lid, placing it in the icebox for later. “Hurry up and get ready to go. There’s a washroom out back next to the garden you can use.” 

Vý yawned as she rolled out of bed. “Where are we going?”

“The morning meditation. Ezra will be expecting us soon and I assume Grandmother will as well,”

As she made her way out the back door, she called over her shoulder. “We wouldn’t want to upset our dear ‘God-mother’.”

Vý quickly wrapped up the mundane drudgery of morning preparations, and the pair left the house right away. The first thing she noticed was the height they were at, as the clouds were only a story higher than the houses here. Some even cloaked the roofs of the larger ones. All of the homes on the island were in the same architectural style as Nish’s; flat stone walls making a ring topped by a tent, some had a flat plane of glass acting as their roofs while others had wooden frameworks, allowing in sunlight and fresh air. They were all connected via a road paved with a cobalt blue stone, and as the two made their way down the road, Vý noticed other monks had started to exit their homes, heading in the same direction.

They reached the top of a grassy hill and she saw the reason for the haste. The houses she had been seeing since the beginning of trip were all behind her as grass spread out, wild and untamed. In the middle of the grassland there was a circular amphitheatre surrounded by row after row of stone seats. Some had cushions and more still had a Gyiyg settled in, cross-legged and deep in meditation. At the forefront of the seats was a large mat, and behind it were four pillars surrounding a massive geometric shape floating over a well. To her amazement, water flowed upward toward the shape as it spun slowly in mid-air within the confines of the four pillars. 

They approached the plaza from the west, taking seats near the front row as more and more people slowly filtered in. The first thing Vý saw was the elder from the previous day standing in the center of the mat, watching with patient eyes as the others came in a took their seats. Nish reached into her satchel, pulling out a small bowl filled with the fruit she had been chopping and a corked bottle of water, handing them both the Vý.

“Here’s some breakfast.”

She accepted them, untying the cloth that kept the lid on top of the bowl and taking a bite out of the slice of sweet citrusy fruit. It was still ice cold and refreshing. Acidic and tangy flavors danced on her tongue before she washed it down with the amethyst colored water in the bottle. “You’re not hungry?” 

Nish shook her head as she placed the leather bag on the floor in front of her, folding her legs under herself and preparing to meditate. “I ate before you got up. Don’t worry about me.”

She steadied her breathing and closed her eyes, focusing on the moment. Vý looked around and saw the scene repeated, the community of monks, one after the other, settling in and quietly letting their minds flow into various states of alert restfulness. Cross-legged, various bags or bottles at their sides, staffs strewn about, and eyes shut every last one. Even the elder had taken his seat before them on the mat, in the same pose.

They began a chant led by the red Gyiyg. “Everything and nothing,”

The audience answered in one voice, “Loss and gain, existence on another plane,”

The elder replied,”That is nil and all it'll be, for all to grasp but none to see,”

On cue they continued, “From fibonacci to the phi, blueprint of our reality.”

Vý sensed a rapid rise in psionic energy as Ezra called out in a loud echoing voice, “Sunder the Veil!”

The Goddess stepped out of nothingness beside the elder, finishing the phrase, _“And view with true sight, my children.” _

Vý almost choked on her breakfast, so sudden was Caedin’s appearance. Apparently having divine creatures appear in the morning was daily ritual, as not one of them so much as opened an eyelid. Caedin sat down next to Ezra and they all continued their meditations as if a otherworldly entity hadn’t just popped into reality. 

She finished the last of her food as, one by one, the monks stood up waiting for instruction. In the far back rows behind her, Vý saw Kella next to another monk with lavender fur wearing a red and gold pendant. Their focus was locked solely on the the center stage where the elder and entity sat. 

As Nish finished her own meditation and stood, Ezra began, “We will now begin today’s sparring match.”

“As Olun was the victor of the last match, she has the right to choose the rules of today’s match.” 

Vý’s ears perked up. She had thought these monks did nothing but wax philosophical and study shapes. It seems that they honed not only their minds but their bodies as well. 

The lavender-furred Gyiyg standing next to Kella said. “Hand-to-hand, no weapons or PSI.” 

As she walked down the stairs between the seats toward the mat at front of the crowd, Ezra got up and came to sit next to Vý, while Caedin floated up into the air from where she sat, staying slightly elevated and off to the side of the main stage. 

“Good Morning, my children,” Ezra said as he sat down.

“Morning, Elder,” Nish replied, taking her seat and looking around to see who still stood.

Vý barely acknowledged the crimson Gyiyg’s greeting, greedly downing the last of the bottle of water and restoppering it before handing it back to Nish. “So what’s going on? You monks partake in bloodsport?”

Nish snatched the bottle and replied briskly, “It is not bloodsport!”

“Is blood spilled regularly?” said Vý.

Ezra answered laughing, “Oh, quite often.”

“Is there betting?”

Nish refused to answer, but her silence spoke for itself.

“Then by definition **this**\--” Vý gestured toward the mat. “--is bloodsport.”

Kella came down from his initial spot near the back, taking a seat next to the elder. As more and more Gyiyg began to sit, Olun stretched on the mat loosening her muscles for the upcoming bout. 

“Olun is in top form today. I pity whoever steps into the ring with her.”Kella said, excitedly

Vý tuned to Kella, “How do these events usually go?”

The teal monk was looking around to see who was getting ready to partake as he replied, “It’s simple; whoever has won yesterday’s match picks the next day’s rules. Though Olun has caused a bit of an upset to our simplistic system.”

A Monk with brown fur and studs in his ears walked past Vý and the others, confidently making his way toward the mat as a hush fell over the crowd of onlookers.

“What's she done?” Vý asked.  
  


Ezra spoke up. “She refuses to lose. This will be her thirteenth victory if Kanro can’t defeat her.”

“And a higher pay out on the wagers if he can.” Nish added. 

Even Nish had a bit of reverence in her voice as she told Vý of Olun’s current string of wins. Reverence and no small amount of pride.

“Though most of it will got to Olun if she can keep this up.”

The two bowed to each other and then to the audience before taking a stance. Olun’s was a low, wide stance, legs far apart for balance and stability. Her left hand was out in front of her, palmside up, while the other was in curled into a tight fist.

Kanro’s stance was more basic. One foot forward, one foot back, with both his hands up at the ready. His tail was at his right side, poised like a serpent ready to strike. Both stared the other down, waiting for the first move that would launch them into the melee.

Kanro was the first to attack, dashing in and testing Olun’s defenses with a few quick jabs. She knocked the blows aside easily and struck out with a low kick aimed for her opponent’s knee. 

Before it could connect, the brown Gyiyg’s tail wrapped around Olun’s ankle. In one swift, fluid motion, she lifted her leg and whipped her own tail at the one gripping her, breaking the grip and smacking it away. The lavender champion hopped back, putting distance between the two. 

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, centering herself. Before starting her own assault, she darted in and threw a kick. Kanro sidestepped it quickly and whipped out one of his own, trying to catch her off guard. Olun caught the kick with her left hand as she stepped close, tagging her foe with three quick punches.

Two to the chest and one to the throat. Instinctually capitalizing on the opening, showing neither hesitation nor mercy.

Kanro tried to get away after the hits. A rasping cough could be heard as he stumbled backwards, but this too was an opportunity she did not let go to waste. She leapt into the air finishing the match with a vicious roundhouse kick, laying Kanro out.

The crowd burst into cheers and applause, though some groans could be heard from the losers of the numerous wagers placed against Olun. Ezra rose from his seat and made his way over to the winner of the match. Vý noticed Caedin too came down from her spot in midair to congratulate the fierce monk.

_“Bloodsport for a god--and I thought Nucade was an interesting place to live.”_

“How do you like our daily routine, Little Sister?” 

“When I heard you rattling off shapes yesterday, I thought all you monks did was garden and meditate, but you’ve proved me wrong. Do all of you know how to fight like that?”

Nish grabbed another bottle from her bag as she answered. “Of course, we all have to be well trained. A strong mind is useless without a equally strong body to utilize it.”

Slowly the audience began to leave their seats, groups of three and four heading off to start their days across the island. The loser of the match had woken up and was leaning on another monk for support as the two walked away.

“I’ll catch you two some other time. I’ve got to go give my congratulations to Olun.” Kella said as he jogged off to catch up with the lavender colored fighter. Nish and Vý were getting ready to go as well when Ezra called out to them.

“My children, a moment of your time?” 

The two looked at each other before walking over to the center mat and sitting down with the Elder and the god. 

Vý was the first to speak up. “I assume this is about the ‘task’ you mentioned yesterday?”

Ezra nodded as he reached into the bag at his side, pulling out two identical palm-sized geometric shapes. 

“As Kella has already introduced you to the basics, I’ll keep this simple; the Platonic Solids represent not only some of the basic structures of life but the elements as well. I’ll not bore you with details, but suffice to say the element embodied by the Dodecahedron--” He held up the shapes, one in each hand. “--represents ‘Prana’, pure ethereal energy.”

_ “You know already of one half of your mission. Once you have made your way back to the city above, you are to seek out those of the eighth mutation and keep them out of the hands of the Enkeinian government.” _

“But to ensure success, you’ll have to visit two stops on Cade before making your way back up to Nucade city.”

“Where am I to go, specter?” Vý said. 

_“Your destinations are Amati city beneath the Lhotse forrest, and Kial city within the Kial hill-lands to the northwest. You are to take these shapes to these locations and mantle the strength of the Tulpic entities.”_

“More gods, I assume.” 

Ezra nodded his head in confirmation. “Though they are quite different from Grandmother, these are beings that have undergone apotheosis, the transformation from mortal to divine. Caedin has always been on a higher frequency.” 

“Well, that’s all fine and good, but I’m from the city. I have no idea where any of these places are.”

_ “That why is your sister, Nish will escort you.” _

The monk spoke up for the first time. “As you wish, Grandmother. I will see your will done.”

Ezra put the shapes away in a bag he had set off to the side, pulling the drawstring taut and handing it to Vý. “Here are supplies for the road ahead.”

She took the bag and asked, “When do we leave?”

_ “Now.” _

Caedin rose and pounded her staff on the ground. When it made contact with the mat, the world rocked on a current as if the island was a large vessel at sea. Everything went black for a moment. And when light returned just as quick as it left, Nish and Vy were sitting in the sand on a beach with a forest at their backs. 

_“I expect great things from you, Granddaughter,”_ The goddess said, looking down on the two Gyiyg before floating away and vanishing once more to parts unknown. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183515769776/chapter-4-sunder-the-veil


	6. Rushing Tide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunted? Pursued? Is this a temporary path, or a prelude of things to come?

\------------------------------

148; 0106 U.V.A.

\------------------------------

Nish said, “Is it just me or was that kind of-”

“Sudden?” Vý finished the monk’s sentence as she got up, knocking the sand off of her Pancho. “Yes, it seems that ‘patience’ along with ‘subtlety’ can be added to the list of things this entity lacks.” 

The relaxing sounds of the waves lazily washing on to the beach and receding back to ocean did little to soothe Vý’s mounting irritation. 

The monk got up, shaking slightly to free the sand from her fur. “Grandmother did say that she’d have need of you soon.”

“True, but I expected to be given a day or two to relax. It’d be nice to have that choice at the very least.”

Vý looked around, taking in her surroundings. Amethyst waves lapped onto the beach and several birds flew overhead, cawing loudly, flying deeper into the forest at her back. To the west was a large mountain range that overlooked the coast, like silent sentinels watching over the land and sea. And across the water, she could see an island in the distance.

Nish began walking toward the forest and Vý followed shortly after, catching up and asking, “Do you know which way we’re supposed to be going?”

The yellow-furred monk nodded and pointed to the mountains, “Those are the Virion Mountains, and that island back there was Sovari Island. So if we go north maybe edging a bit toward northwest we’ll be able to get to the river, which will take us to Amati City,”

Vý was impressed. She’d never have admitted it out loud; but this girl was capable, a bit blinded by faith but she seemed to be forging on like being assigned a task by a god out of the blue was nothing but a quick errand, like picking up groceries on the way home.

Maybe for her, it was.

The two made their way through the thick undergrowth of the forest. Roots and small shrubs dotted the landscape and more than once they heard a strange sound echoing among the trees; some creature somewhere chattering, calling out from the depths of the forest.

Vý stopped, sitting on a massive root as she rubbed her foot. She had stepped on a jagged stone that had jabbed her foot at an awkward angle.

“This forest floor is a pain. Do you have any more of those wraps you monks wear?”

“I’m sure the elder must have packed extras for the trip,” Nish said as she took a drink from her water bottle.

The short Gyiyg set down the bag she had been carrying, undid the drawstring, and rummaged through it in search of something to put on her feet. “How long till we make it to the river?” She found her prize quickly, taking the wrapping out and binding both feet in the cloth.

“I’d say about a day, so we might have to camp, but we’ve been making good time.” She took a look at the haphazard way Vý had wrapped her paws and said, “Those will barely last two steps, let me help.”

She knelt down and took Vý’s paw in her hands, unwrapping and re-wrapping the left then right one in short order.

She swiftly adjusted the footwraps, showing Vý the proper technique as she said, “They have to be tightly bound then tucked to get them to stay.”

Vý hopped up after Nish had finished, slung the bag Erza had given her over her shoulder and continued on through the forest, not even looking back. The monk followed soon after. A few moments went by in silence before Nish asked. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Act so...distant.”

Vý stopped walking, Nish continued, “I can understand the not wanting to be called ‘Sister’ part, but I’m sorry, have you never heard of the words ‘Thank you’?”

“Look…...Nish, I’m going to be honest with you. Since I met you in Magicant, I’ve been to put it mildly, mad as hell.”

She looked up at the leaves, bathed in the criss-cross of shadows and light beams cast by the trees above. “I don’t blame you for not understanding why I distrust you-...excuse me, our Grandmother. But before you arrived, she flung me into a memory I wasn’t so keen to revisit, and any being that would subject someone to that, just to make a point--” She shook her head. “--is one I want nothing to do with. Did you not wonder why I, A stranger to your island, listened to every word she said, only asking questions to better understand this task? It is because I was never afforded even a millisecond to think I had a choice in the matter,”

“But Grandmother would’n-” Vý cut her off with a harsh laugh dripping in cynicism.

“Wouldn’t!? It would, and has already, Nish. The specter’s silent threat was all too clear. ‘Complete the task or be haunted by nightmares till your dying days.’ I’m sure I’m not its first pawn and I doubt I’ll be its last.”

The look on the monk's face was a cross between disbelief and guilt, as if a part of her denied the fact that Caedin would be so cruel, and another part of her deep down knew it to be true.

Suddenly Kella’s words rang through her mind; ‘She is the one who brought this knowledge to us long ago. It has served its purpose and given us great insight, but to what end has always been my question.’

_“To what end indeed.” she thought._

The trek through the Lhotse Forest continued on silently as the two marched through the trees, each lost in contemplation at their role in Caedin’s task, both left to ponder the grand machinations of a god.

The setting sun brought on the night and the two found a small grassy clearing in the forest where they could build a fire and rest. Nish slipped straight into sleep after a short meditation session and a small meal from the packed food Ezra had given them.

Vý, still restless, stayed up and made an inventory of their supplies. The elder had stocked the bag with the basics of food and several bottles of water, clothes, a map of the continent, and eighty credits. A meagre sum, but enough to last till they made their way back to Nucade. Next to the small bag of credits, she saw the golden geometric shapes that had also been packed. She pulled one of them out of the bag and held it up to inspect it.

_"Which of those dumb shapes was this?"_ She thought as she struggled to remember Kella’s quick summation of the Platonic Solids.__

_ “Icosa- no, it was a Dodecahedron.”_

The shape was made of a golden metal and shined dully as it reflected the light from the crackling campfire. It almost seemed to breathe, to be alive as light gleamed within it, responding to the light outside, showing more shapes folding into themselves and shifting. Staring at the fractal patterns calmed her as she rested by the warm fireside, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

She stored it back with its twin in the bag and put out the campfire, smothering it with dirt from a swish of her tail as she laid down to sleep for the night letting her mind drift into thoughtlessness.

Her morning would not be as peaceful. She awoke to the sounds of cawing and shouting, as Nish fought off whatever had decided to ambush them.

“So glad you’ve decided to join us in the world of the living. Can I get you a drink? Maybe some breakfast? Or would you prefer to eat AFTER I FIGHT OFF THIS PACK OF ARTELSIANS!?”

Her staff whipped around her, whistling as it cut through the air. With each flourish a flurry of Thunder flew from its tip, racing into the forest to strike with cold precision. Vý hopped up, immediately taking aim and firing off bursts of energy as an arm cannon formed from the flowing metal of the Pangolin on her hand.

A large pack of quadrupedal birds stalked the trees surrounding the clearing, leaping and lunging from bushes and treetops in an endless assault.

“R.I.O.S., can you give me information on what an ‘Artelsian’ is?”

The A.I. in the Pangolin answered after a few moments.

“Artelsian: Large avian. Carnivore. Usually found in large packs. Territorial and aggressive. I suggest you run, mistress.”

The Artelsians circled the clearing slowly, clearly searching for an opening to exploit. Their feathers were a dark blue, the color of the night sky, and their talons and beaks were black. They moved methodically, never stopping, ever vigilant for a moment to pounce.

Vý could see more of them poised on tree branches and others lurking behind trees, ready to replace their fallen allies at a moment’s notice.

“Okay, we can get out of this. We just need a distraction.”

“Well, I can use Starstorm,” Nish said, slapping away an Artelsian with her staff, sending it flying into a bush in a rustle of leaves.

Another one of the avian predators leapt, and Vý blasted it out of the air. “YOU CAN USE STARSTORM!?” the short Gyiyg yelled incredulously. “Why’d you even wake me up!?”

“Well, I didn’t want to just obliterate the local wildlife! And I don’t have enough energy to stop all of them!”

Vý threw her hands up, surrounding the pair in a white dome of energy. “Just use Starstorm so we can make a break for it.” She picked up both hers and Nish’s bags, slinging them both over her shoulder in preparation for a hasty exit.

Nish clenched her fist and held her staff high over her head, building psychic energy and molding it to obey her will. Above the forest, white-hot orbs of power fizzled into existence snapping and sparking dangerously, rising in both intensity and size.

She brought her staff down in a striking motion and the psionic energy cluster fell out of the sky, raining down on the forest in a wanton overcast of destruction. The Artelsians were driven into a maddened state as they scattered, running in all directions in an attempt to escape Nish’s onslaught. The two Gyiyg took the opportunity afforded by the chaos to break off into a full sprint, putting as much distance between them and the beasts as they could.

The forest became a blur as they ran, leaping over bushes and ducking under branches. Though they had lost the majority of the predators, a small contingent was still in pursuit chasing them using the treetops.

“These things are persistent--any idea on how we’re supposed to get rid of ‘em?” Vý said.

She could hear the creatures’ hissing squawks on her heels, growing ever closer.

Nish answered, “If we’re going in the right direction, we should be coming up on Mellin River soon. They won’t follow us anymore once we make it there. Get ready to jump.”

Vý nodded, focusing on keeping pace with her taller companion as they ran. Her heart began to throb in her small chest, but she kept her mind on the goal ahead. A tiny hope filled her as the trees became more and more sparse until she could see the end of their marathon through the forest. They were running straight toward a cliff.

“Wait, where’s the river?”

“At the bottom of the ravine.”

“YOU DIDN’T THINK TO MENTION THAT EARLIER!?” Vý screamed, frustration mixing with fatigue to raise her voice to a screeching pitch.

“Sorryitslippedmymindjump!” The rush of words left Nish’s mouth as she and Vý dived off the cliff at full speed plummeting down the ravine. Wind rushed all around them as they fell toward the amethyst waters below. Nish hurled her staff toward the water like a javelin, when it hit the current a raft of ice formed atop the water. Nish landed first, using telekinesis to float down gently as a feather. She reached out and escorted the smaller Gyiyg with her power as well, placing her down on the makeshift ice vessel as they sailed down the current.

They looked to the clifftop and could see the Artelsians leering down at them from over the edge, watching as their prey escaped. Vý was lying on her back, breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath while Nish sat down cross-legged, grabbing one of the bags from Vý and fishing out a piece of bread to snack on.

She pinched a small portion off between her fingers and toasted it using psychic fire, before popping the morsel into her mouth. “Why didn’t you use telekinesis to levitate when we jumped?”

Vý sat up, staring at the avian hounds that had chased them so doggedly. “Noticed that, did you?”

The monk just nodded in response.

“Look, all you need to know is that I had a...less than pleasant experience with telekinesis, so I try not to use it if I don't have to.”

Vý put out out her hand, and Nish handed her a portion of the bread.

“On to more important topics, like, where’s this river taking us?”

Nish dug around in the bag in her lap and pulled out their map, unrolling it for Vý to see.

“We’re around right here--” She pointed to a purple line signifying the river. “--We just have to keep on this course and we’ll get to the old city.”

Vý saw on the map that they were on one of two rivers leading from a lake. “Wait, don’t rivers flow toward the ocean?” she inquired.

“Not the Mellin, or at least the eastern branch.” Nish trailed her finger along the route they were on.

“The current we’re on leads away from the Virion Mountains up into a lake. But we’ll be getting off long before that.” She rolled the map up and stored it back in the bag.

“So where exactly is the city?”

“Well, the Gyiyg who use to live here built wooden platforms over the river and lived under the forest, psionically digging into the stone to make their homes. Eventually, the community grew, and from a fishing village that lived along the riverside sprang up an underground city and trading hub that people would travel from all over Cade to visit.”

Vý grabbed one of the bags and used it as a pillow, leaning back comfortably on it as the raft floated lazily down the river current. “Well, wake me when we get there,” she said as she yawned.

Nish watched the trees of the forest pass her by as she went down the river. She focused on the sounds of flowing water, and the miscellaneous calls of nature the buzzing insects and singing birds, the heartbeat of a world thrumming all around her, alive and strong. It had been a long time since she had been to Cade, and longer still since she had used PSI for anything other than mundane tasks.

She knew Artelsians were aggressive, but usually having significant psychic power was enough to keep wildlife at bay, acting as a natural deterrent as if they could feel the psionic potential and avoided it the same way prey avoids the predator; out of an inborn sense of self-preservation.

But the beasts came without fear and in greater number than any regular flock. What could cause such a frenzy? And how long would this effect last? Would they be fighting the whole way to the City?

Nish hoped not. She had no desire to harm the creatures of Enkei. Her foremost thought was on completing the task assigned to her. As she came around a bend in the river, Nish saw the first of many wooden platforms.

Built just above the river were sturdy walkways connecting the two sides of the ravine. She could imagine what it must’ve been like back when it was a bustling center of activity. Gyiyg fishing over the side of the bridges, people going from stall to stall looking for something to buy, each stocked with more decadent items than the last from all over the continent.

The spices and rare jewels of the Gonro Desert from the east, Grel ores and high cuisine from the cliffside cities of Arlosa to the north. Rugs, hand-woven wares and grains from the fields of the Kial Hill-lands in the west. What a time to be alive.

She stood and wrenched her staff from the icey raft with a twist, using it to row over to one of the numerous docks that led to up to walkways above, via a set of stairs.

Nish picked up her bag, hanging the strap over her shoulder as she nudged Vý with the butt of her staff.

“Hey, wake up. We’re here.” She hopped off the raft onto the dock.

Vý got up quickly, picking up her makeshift pillow as she stepped off the frozen raft following Nish up the stairs.

Along the river bridges spread as far as she could see, connecting the walls of the ravine together. Deep tunnels had been excavated in the walls on both sides. Large arches carved exquisitely hung overhead as they entered into the underground route to Amati City. Embedded in the walls and roof were crystals that glowed with an inviting, ethereal white light. Vý noticed that these crystals looked similar to the one in Nish's staff.

“That’s Enkeinien Quartz, right?” Vý’s voice echoed all around them, as they strode deeper into the submerged metropolis.

“Yeah, the citizens of Cade used it in a lot of their infrastructure. It was one of the factors that led to the Aurelian Wars.”

“You’re full of historical facts, aren’t you?”

Nish shrugged. “I was always told, ‘To know where you’re going you have to know where you’ve been’.”

“So let me ask you, why’d you agree to come with me on this task? You didn’t even take the time to think about it.”

Nish thought for a moment, in reality, even she didn’t know why. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

“Caedin personally asked me to--” She paused. “-- But now after hearing how she pushed you into it, maybe I’ve made a mistake.”

“That’s an understatement,” Vý said. “But I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Nothing to do but keep moving forward.”

The short Gyiyg kept walking, not looking back to see if Nish had caught up.

“You're talkative today. Feeling well rested after your nap?”

“A little bit, though my mood can only improve when the starting point is being surrounded by a pack of aggressive maddened birds. If you don’t mind, I’d like to avoid another situation like that.”

“How so?”

“Well, we need to establish each other's strengths and weaknesses, so we don’t get blindsided again.”

“You think we’ll be doing more fighting?” Nish asked,

“I’m not sure, but I’d rather be ready for anything that comes our way. What can you use besides Starstorm and LifeUp?”

Nish began listing off her skills. “Healing, and PK beam, fire and freeze.”

Vý made a sound of appreciation. “You have a pretty balanced skill set. It’d be good for my kind of work.”

“I never asked--what is it you do in the City?”

“I’m a bounty hunter,” she answered.

“You kill people for credits?” Apprehension lined her voice.

Vý looked up at the monk with a skewed eye. “Don’t give me that tone. We can’t all sit around meditating and studying shapes all day.”

Nish sighed. “So you can use Shields. What else?”

“OffenseUp, QuickUp, Hypnosis and PSI Shield.”

“No offensive PSI?”

Vý shook her head. “For ranged attacks, I use my Pangolin, and a little bit of psionically buffed speed and strength take care of everything else. So what’s you-” She stopped mid-sentence. Her ears twitched and she turned around to look down the faintly lit tunnel at her back before asking.

“Do you hear that?”

Nish closed her eyes, perking up her ears and concentrating on her surroundings. In the darkness of the various doorways and rooms all around them, she could hear scuttling sounds. The sound of claws on a smooth stone floor, increasing in pitch as time went on. The clicking sound seemed to be coming from everywhere as the echoes of the swarm’s incessant movement resounded off the walls.

Blue beetles burst forth from every crevice around the pair of Gyiyg. The insects seemed to flow out of the very shadows, as they surged in waves rushing toward Vý and Nish. Snapping their mandibles hungrily, anticipating their next meal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183546798946/chapter-5-rushing-tide


	7. Husks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Broken shadows spitting curses, vitriol gnawing at your very soul.

\------------------------------

148; 0106 U.V.A.

\------------------------------

“Watch out!”

Vý put up her hand, and a barrier of psychic energy formed between Nish and the group of bugs that had attacked from a shadowy doorway. They collided with it and were rebounded, thrown back to the floor. The creatures moved as an undulating mass of darkness, with seemingly one mind, one task; to feed.

Nish took off running and Vý wasn’t far behind, blasting wildly into the swarm whenever it got to close. They sprinted as fast as their legs would carry them, taking flight with seemly no direction as the two evaded the insects. Running deeper and deeper into the labyrinthian underground city. 

As they got further on, Vý noticed the crystals in the walls and ceilings started to take on different patterns. Lines of jewels ran along the walls and floors, signifying distinct areas. They took a left and ran down a narrow hallway, but the hive mind was nestled there too. 

The insects lashed out instinctually, Nish pointed and a gout of flames rose up to meet the threat swallowing the creatures in flash of heat that devoured their small bodies instantly, the ones merely burned by the fire let out an ungodly screech that echoed all around them as the bugs cried out in pain and shock.

Nish turned around and yelled. “Gogogo! Back the other way!” 

The pair double backed and leapt down a set of stairs taking a different route, but the bugs were ravenous. Nish saw a bridge suspended over one the underground rivers that flowed throughout the city down a path to their left, and headed straight for it taking the lead. The swarm was right on their heels, jumping and snapping, trying to reach their prey in a zealous frenzy. 

Nish took a deep breath and focused on her pool of psychic power. As they reached the end of the bridge she turned and held out her staff, the quartz crystal within the helix glowed faintly as water from the river rose up in a swift current to wash back the beatles, Vý reached out with her mind, taking the arches above in a telekinetic grip and wrenching two massive chunks free from the architecture before smashing them down on the bridge, blocking the doorway and creating a wall of stone cutting them off from the mad pursuit of the blue tinted swarm. 

“Hold those stones in place for just a few more moments for me,” Nish said as she snapped her hand back and clenched her fist. . 

Water began to flow around the stone barrier, in between the small cracks and fissures in the patchwork wall. Then a creeping cold wafted over the water crawling up the makeshift structure, freezing it and sealing the entrance. 

Nish sat down with her back to a wall, she could still hear the insects throwing themselves at the rock, in their vain attempts to reach the other side.

She rested her head on her knees and set the staff down while Vý began tinkering with the Pangolin on the back of her hand.

“R.I.O.S. Any idea what those things were?” 

The A.I. beeped twice and began listing information._ “Ceurimites. Hivemind insects that attack in a blitzkrieg, using numbers to overwhelm their prey.” _

She looked over to the monk. “You alright?” 

Nish replied. “I’m fine, just hand me one of those bottles from the bag.” 

Vý sat down in front of Nish, and opened the bag to get her a drink. 

She noticed that a golden glow emanated from inside the sack. Vý quickly reached inside, grabbing a bottle for Nish and fishing out the source of the light, it was one of the geometric shapes Ezra had given them. It floated in the air just above the palm of her hand.

A soothing voice she didn't recognize reverberated in her mind. 

** Are you ready?**

Vý stood up and repeated the question to Nish. “Are you ready to go?”

The yellow furred Gyiyg nodded as she stood, storing the bottle away in her own bag. “Do you know where we’re supposed to be going?”

Vý tossed the spinning dodecahedron up, and it took flight down the tunnel, leaving a faint ethereal trail in its wake. They followed their guide; downstairs, through doors, past the many empty long abandoned complex catacombs of the city, silent save for the scuttling masses that lay in wait within its dark corridors. 

There were carving in the walls and ceilings, magnified in beauty by the shining quartz that was the cornerstone of their designs. Sophisticated depictions etched in stone of the long gone days, of wars, and strife, of the history of the Gyiyg. They reached the back of a room and the dodecahedron slid through a wall as if it were smoke. Nish and Vý sped up not wanting to lose sight of the golden trinket, walking through the wall with nary a second thought.

Behind the wall was a cramped narrow hallway, that they had to slide sideways to fit inside. The flying shape slid into a notch in a door at the end of the hallway and it opened without a sound sinking into the floor. 

The pair walked into a high ceilinged antechamber, large pillars reached up to a roof darker than the night-sky, peppered with quartz that shimmered in the shadows bathing the hidden room in a soft light. More carvings lined the walls, accompanied by sculptures of leviathans with quartz composing their eyes, fangs, and claws. The effigies were all frozen in fierce roars.

Lines of pews carved from stone, made up row after row of seats all around the room. And at the end of the chamber was a pristine golden chalice on a pedestal. The goblet was seemingly made of the same material as the shapes Ezra had sent with them.

The dodecahedron flew into the massive cup, landing inside with a loud clang. Then water of an unknown origin started flowing out of the cup, spilling over the edge and onto the floor at a steady rate. The door behind them slid up from the floor trapping them inside the hidden place.

Nish looked around trying to find some way out, apprehension and anxiety mounting as a sudden feeling of absolute dread washed over her out of nowhere. A sound like the groans of a sleeping monster, woken early from its slumber filled her ears. And around the chalice, appearing from nowhere stood three shadowy figures; they had long gangly limbs that slumped to the floor, scraps of cloth hung on their frames and they were missing their heads. Where their heads and shoulders should’ve been there was nothing, as if the upper part of their bodies had been scooped away leaving a torn and hollow frame. Looking ‘inside’ revealed a repeating ripple pattern of black and white rings. 

Vý fired several shots with her cannon but the destructive pulses melded into the anomalies, having little to no effect. The beasts held up their hands and pointed toward the two Gyiyg. Sapping them of strength and willpower, as the two fell to their knees they could feel the creatures prying into their minds, with no regard for privacy nor decency. Prying in to deliver a message, they spoke in unison.

_“And she was washed along by the primordial deific waters, made to helplessly follow the current and be plunged wholesale into its depths. Lost to the terrible ebon soliloquy that is atrophy. Curling it's onyx tendrils around everything, ripping apart the old to make the new, after the heat death of all that was, all there is, and all that will ever be. She is naught but a scared child nestled in the bosom of cosmic planetary apotheosis, hiding beneath a blanket crying out in vain for improbable salvation.”_

Water flowed down the steps that led up to the podium. Soaking the two Gyiyg as they clutched their heads writhing on the floor, trying to withstand the mental onslaught that screamed through their minds. Left helpless against a searing pain so sharp they could not even cry out. 

Caedin faded into existence, floating above Nish and Vý.

_“Begone pale husks, dripping with vainglory and malice. Run back to the underside of the blighted parts of broken mindscapes! Pain my children no longer!”_

The pale creatures all hissed._ “Erroneous pretender, Nibiru comes!”_

_“Begone!”_ The gods’ eyes shone with a furious wrath.

Whitehot fire burst from the husks enveloping them as Caedin raised her voice to an unnatural pitch. They were incinerated instantly, obliterated by her ivory flames that left behind neither smoke nor ash, leaving the room suddenly quiet. 

Caedin slowly walked over to the golden cup atop the pedestal. Wherever she stepped in the water it shimmered, leaving a blossoming path of light behind her. She stood next to the chalice waiting patiently for Vý and Nish to rise. 

The small grey Gyiyg was the first to recover. Rubbing her eyes as she rose, her head wouldn’t stop spinning and her body felt weighed down and slightly numb. 

“I’m loving this trip already Grandmother, twice pursed by crazed wildlife and assaulted by ghastly phantoms. Never a dull moment with you around.”

_“We’ve no time for your droll attempts at humor child, come forward.”_

She looked down to Nish and said an inquiring tone. “Nish?”

“Hmm?” The monk made noise halfway between a grunt and groan.

“You still alive down there?”

“Mhmm” Her head nodded slightly, making tiny ripples in the water.

“Alright just checkin’,”

Vý approached the altar and stood next to Caedin. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to the unfeeling and stoney profile of the luminous entity. It didn’t seem to breath or blink, and lacked the subtle movements of regular beings. The small twitch of the hand or the impatient tap of a foot, she might as well been a sculpture like the ones lining the room. 

“You mind telling me what those things were? I would guess ghosts, but that seems too simple an answer.”

_“They are known as the Qiqothe, they are psionic scavengers crowding around the residue of a dormant energy. Touch the cup to find out whose power they envy.” _

She hesitated for half a second before placing her hand on the cup. Inside it, under the water, the geometric shape shook as water still flowed endlessly over the lip of the goblet. 

A frigid wave crashed mercilessly through her body colder than anything she’d ever felt in her life, colder than the trek through her Magicant. It was a cold snap that snatched her breath away suddenly, as she gasped in surprise.

All color fell away from the world leaving the room around her in boring shades of grey. The dizziness and numbness grew tenfold and her knees felt like brittle twigs ready to snap any moment.

All color was gone except Caedins’ eyes, they were pupilless mirrors expelling a thick golden smoke. 

_“Come forth Mia’zymat, I have need of your power.”_

Water stopped pouring out of the cup, and the dodecahedron floated out of it hovering idly in the air. Vý slumped to the floor and when she looked up Caedin had already vanished. Drowsiness gripped her like a titan, pressing her down into deep deep sleep.

Somewhere far away she could hear Nish getting up, and walking over to her but Vý was worlds away, tumbling into a distant slumber. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183562548136/chapter-6-husks


	8. Past and Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ebb and flow of time stains all things, destiny pervasive as rain drops in a raging storm.

\------------------------------

148; 0106 U.V.A.

\------------------------------

Nish got up slowly, steadily approaching the cup as she shook the water from her fur. She was soaked, and had a splitting headache. It felt as if those creatures that Caedin dispelled, were still pounding on the inside of her skull stubbornly trying to break their way out.

It was deathly quiet, save for the sound of Vý breathing peacefully as she slept. She was shivering slightly and mumbling half spoken words.

She walked over to Výs side, and rummaged through her bag retrieving a blanket and covering the short Gyiyg with it. 

_“I’m not surprised she’s tired, We’ve been busy since she first got up. I wouldn’t mind a nap myself.”_

Nish wondered how much time had passed since they had entered the city, it was nearing the end of the morning when they fled from the Artelsians. 

She looked around surveying the area, the high ceilinged chamber seemed to be sealed tight with no discernable exits. She’d be able to get out but it would take time to regain enough of her energy to do so. She set her bag and staff down near the podium and stared at the golden dodecahedron suspended in midair.

It made no sound and gave no visual indication of the latent power resting just beneath the surface, but Nish could sense the psychic potential wafting off the object. The psychic equivalent of standing near an open smoldering furnace. 

_“What could be giving off that much power?”_ Caedin’s secondary task was half-done and they’d nearly been eaten twice and driven mad the first day. What other obstacles would bar the path the god had laid at their feet, and where would that paths end lead them? 

She pushed these worrisome thoughts to the corners of her mind as she investigated the secret sanctum, taking a closer look at the masterfully cut stone mural on the walls. Twelve tall pillars lined the edges of the room and curled around them were the sculptures of leviathans, long draconic serpents wound around the pillars looming high above, looking as if they would come to life and strike at any moment. 

With the day she’d been having, she wouldn’t even be surprised if they did.

The murals showed the history of the Gyiyg, she had always loved learning and studying history with her father when she was younger. A pleasant memory she could always return to.

Pictograms carved into the wall portrayed the trek across Cades surface the nomadic tribes of old had taken way back when. 

The long honored tradition to journey and align oneself with the ley lines of the planet to become attuned with its energy. Nish walked along the wall, feeling the smooth stone and tracing the patterns with her fingers as she made her way from scene to scene on the surface of the wall.

Continuing through the years with the formation of the Three Kingdoms and the conflict with the Gyiyg that had initially been distant family, but were all to easily turned to bitter enemies. 

Those that had held onto the old ways, were barred from completing their ritualistic pilgrimage and had revolted almost instantly. After three years of meaningless bloodshed a ceasefire was called, not for goodness sake or in reverence for the countless lives loss; the mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters, the loved ones ripped away and ground into ashes and dust by the whetstone that was war shaving down souls, leaving nothing but a keen edge behind.

No, it was an another war than had come knocking at their door to supplant the first, a war that pit them against adversaries from another world. Against the Shamblers that had made quick strides in taking key parts of the Virindis and threatened to dominate the solar system if left unchecked. It was only through the combined efforts of the Gyiygs, Mooks, Saturns, and Nevidians that their tiny sequestered slice of space remained upright and orderly.

It was a long standing topic of debate still discussed by philosophers and historians to this day, as to whether or not the Gyiyg people as a whole would’ve survived the first Virindis War if either side had won the proceeding war. It was likely that the smaller number of soldiers would have resulted in a much different outcome, and many scholars have postulated that the Gyiyg too would’ve been sorely lacking if they hadn’t steeled themselves in the seven year conflict that had forged them into efficient and dutiful warriors. 

Traits that still stood out to this day. Nish moved away from the wall and went to pick up her bag, before getting out the map and sitting down on one of the pews facing the pedestal, her headache was beginning to subside and she decided she would make good use of her time by plotting her and Výs next destination.

The sheet of paper unrolled to show the landscape of Cade and the surrounding islands, they were currently somewhere deep under Lhotse Forest in the dusty remains of the old city. 

_“It’ll be easy to get to the surface, from there we can make our way to the Kial Hill-lands.”_

To the northwest the vast forest gave way to sweeping plains, high hills and monolithic stone structures five hundred feet tall and half as wide jutting from the ground in regular intervals marked by rectangles on the map. The natural rock formations had made good homes for the inhabitants of the area in days long past as the great stone masons hallowed out the great towers, building and shaping floor upon floor of psionically carved rooms. 

Technically speaking there was no singular city in the Kial Hill-lands as the rock formations were too far from each other to truly but called a ‘city’ and they had worked independently and warred against each other for some time, squabbling amongst themselves before rise of Lith Kah and the construction of the tunnels that linked each tower or ‘district’ to one another. _“If we’re looking for something in the Hill-lands, there’s good chance it’ll be in that underground network”._

Satisfied that she now had some idea of where they should go she stored away the map and walked over to Vý kneeling down beside her, she took it as a good sign that she was no longer shivering. Nish shook her gently by the shoulder and grabbed the cover from the sleeping Gyiyg, folding it up and putting it away.

Vý rubbed her eyes as she asked drowsily, “How long was I out for?”

Nish shrugged her shoulders. “Can’t say, it’s hard to keep track of time down here. Does your device keep time?”

“R.I.O.S. time.” Vý said as she got to her feet, stretching to loosen her muscles for the tasks ahead. 

The A.I. replied. “Late evening moving toward dusk, it is currently forty seven past six.”

“Well we’ve been down here long enough, let’s get on with it.” Vý said as she took a few glances at her surroundings though she quickly came to the same conclusion Nish had; they were trapped.

Nish’s attention was held solely by the dodecahedron, she stared at it intently, as if she might be able to pry out it’s secrets with sheer force of will. “Did Grandmother tell you what this thing even is? Or why we would need it for our tasks?”

“No but the last thing she said before I passed out was ‘Come forth Mia’zy…” A look of bewilderment lined Vý’s face in a instant. Incredulity mixed with fatuity, as the answer was so simple yet so ridiculous she couldn’t help but be bludgeoned by confusion and realization all at once.

Nish hadn’t yet caught on, she was still transfixed with the golden shape waiting in mid air. 

_“I see you’ve realized who’s power I’ve sent you to mantle, Granddaughter.”_

Caedin’s flat tone echoed through their minds clearly as if she stood right beside them, though she chose not to show herself. At hearing the word ‘mantle’ Nish’s ears perked up and she took her sight from the shape for to lock eyes with Vý for just a moment but looked away quickly, like she was guilty of something.

“We’re stealing the power of the Triumvirate.” Vý sounded dumbfounded, like she could hardly believe the words that were coming out of her mouth even as she spoke them.

_“You are correct, my child. Though ‘stealing’ is such a harsh way of describing your quest, I would say that you two are settling a debt for me, a debt accumulated over a century ago that has gained quite a substantial interest.”_

“You know when you talk like that it really makes my skin crawl, I’ve heard from loan sharks that sound less foreboding.”

Nish tentatively reached out for the shape, taking it in her left hand. It glowed slightly and gave off a warm wave of heat that settled deep in her bones, like the energy was trying find somewhere to call home. Nish felt relaxed and fully rested like she had just woken from a particularly comfortable nap.

_ “Through meditation and practice you’ll gradually learn to take more of this psionic energy into your body. Currently it flows unbidden but with enough dedication and skill you will be able to completely mantle Mia’zymat’s power and make it your own.”_

“Circuitous and ominous plans aside, how’re we suppose to get out of here?” Vý asked.

_“Your sister will provide the way out, do be sure to hurry I’ve already set up a distraction for you two.”_

And with that it was silent once again in the secret santorum, Nish stored away the geometric shape in her bag as she asked. “Have you ever phased before? I have enough power now to get us out, and maybe even enough to get us to Kial City.”

Vý shook her head slightly wary. 

Nish smiled. “Good, it’s alway fun to see someones first reaction. Give me your hand.”

The monk held out her hand to Vý, a look of pure glee etched on her face in anticipation of showing her something yet unseen, as if they hadn’t almost been mentally broken or attacked by animals and insects earlier that day. Vý grabbed Nish’s hand and saw her close her eyes to concentrate for a moment.

When Nish opened them, she gave Vý a quick wink and took off without warning like a rocket straight toward the ceiling. Vý didn’t even have time to cry out in protest before everything went black, she could hear wind rushing around her and could feel the sensation that she was moving rapidly upward but beyond that she had no clue what was going on, though it mattered little to her as her only concern was keeping her firm grip on Nish’s hand. 

“Get ready for the best part!” Nish said, half yelling half laughing as the two sailed through rock and earth like a pair of specters unconcerned with all things corporeal.

Suddenly they were in the forest, then they were flying high above the sea of trees and foliage, looking down on the landscape. She could see the mountains they had passed just the other day and the river they took to get to Amati City, the sight was breathtaking and Vý stopped to just to take in the moment and lock it into her memory. The ebbing sunlight steadily giving way to the realm of dusk. Shining boldly off the waters of the Deon Sea casting an orange hue as the artificial sun began to sink into the horizon. 

Despite the circumstances that had led her here Vý was actually beginning to enjoy herself. Being gang pressed into service by a seemingly ubiquitous godlike entity did have its drawbacks, but all things considered she’d had worse vacations.

\---

“Hold the line!” 

Laphon yelled, raising his voice above the beating hooves of the wildlife. Valisi guardsmen stood at the ready, their number just a few shy of a platoon. Fully clad in the dark metallic nightbringer armor generated by their Pangolins. 

The sun was slinking toward the horizon as dusk approached, driving away the evening and the last bits of the sun’s waning light. Amid the grassy plains and high hills of the Kial Hill-lands rampaged an enormous herd of Dridens; longbacked wide shouldered bovine beasts.

They stood six feet high, with six strong legs, they had shaggy matted green fur the same shade as the grass in the area and each sported a set of wicked looking horns that jutted from the bovids temples. Angling back toward its body and turning at sharp angles to encase the animals head in a natural helmet that worked as both offense and defense.

The Dridens were grazers that watched the world go by with the nonchalance only a herbivore with the protection of a herd and no natural predators could muster. 

But something had driven the normally passive creatures forward with a fury Laphon had never seen in all his days. Their stamping was like rolling thunder across the grasslands. A melody signaling the madness of a herd five hundred strong.

Headed straight for the encampments settled before the grand stone tower overlooking the area. 

When the animals first attacked they had been marginally successful in pushing them back using Telekinesis. In small groups of three and four it was effective at first. But after a time this only aggravated them causing the herd to coalesce and attempt to trample the Valisi soldiers using sheer numbers to overwhelm.

The vantage point of the conflict was a point between two massive hills where the brave soldiers held their ground. Behind them was the camp they had set up several days before, being hastily taken down and packed away as Gyiyg ran to and fro in a flurry of activity moving all the supplies into the safety of the stone tower town. Laphon had split the entirety of his forces based on ability, those who had the skills he needed to drive away the beasts were front and center while everyone else had been told to pack everything away and take it all inside.

“Shield Squad! Form up!” Laphon ordered. 

Twenty Gyiyg stepped forward, twenty armsmen of the Valisi highgard whose sole duty it was to protect Enkei and serve their monarch diligently. Gyiyg of numerous fur colors, heights, and ages united by the daily crucible that was service. 

“Sir!” They replied in a singular voice, holding their hands out at the ready. 

The Dridens were closing the distance quickly, taking huge strides in a mad dash to crush all in their path.

“Sigma strength shields!” 

By the time the word ‘sigma’ had left his mouth a wide wall of light had already sprang into existence. The mass of animals slammed into it at full force, causing more than a few of the Valisi casting the shield to take a step back as the sheer mass of the crowd collided with psionic manifestation of the soldiers will. 

Ten more soldiers stood right behind the twenty holding up the shield, each with a hand on two highgards back continuously channeling psychic energy to bolster their shield.

Laphon stood behind his armsmen, observing the situation. The Dridens pushed against the wall of solid light, pressing against one another trying to leverage their numbers to break through the shield. To his left and right, the last twenty or so Valisi were paired off in groups of twos and threes. Two had a steadily diminishing pile of silver orbs set out on the ground as they worked through them, while the third in the pairs would transport the orbs to a stockpile at Laphons feet.

One of the Valisi in the signature black armor and helmet walked over the Laphons side, bowing slightly before saying. “Sir, the Modular Explosive Devices have been loaded with the requested PSI.”

Around him the last few Gyiyg were tossing the devices into the pile in front of Laphon, before backing away a few feet behind him as they had been instructed. 

“Right on time, good work Wynn.” Laphon said as he raised his left hand.

The M.E.D.s lifted off the ground in tune with the movements of his hand, floating up slowly to rest above his head like a cluster of asteroids waiting passively in a cold section of space. 

“Would you like to join me?” The commanding officer asked. 

Wynn deactivated his helmet, and the metal slid away melding into the suit revealing a pair of cold blue eyes. He flashed Laphon a friendly smile and shook his head as he said.

“And take from you the best part of your day? I think not sir. Have at it.” 

He bowed again more dramatically this time. His right arm out, as if he were a waiter showing a hungry couple to their table. 

\---

Nish had taken on a solid form again as she and Vý flew through the sky, heading northwest to their next stop.

“So your Innate PSI is the ability to become intangible?” Vý asked.

She was still holding on to Nishs hand as they both had decided that riding on her back was an option that neither of them were comfortable with.

“Yes, I call it ‘ghostwalking’ or ‘phasing’.”

“Have you ever displaced someone's head with it?”

“Displaced?” Nish said in a confused tone.

“You know? Put your fist through someone's head, then make it solid again and BAM!”

Vý pumped her fist out, miming the action she was trying to describe. 

“How is it that you’ve known about my ability for not even fifteen minutes and you’ve already devised a way to kill someone with it.” Nish sounded somewhere between being, impressed and exasperated.

“I’m talented like that, now quit dodging the question.”

“No, why would I even….Wait what’s going on down there?”

As they flew trees and bushes progressively faded from the landscape, grasslands and hills taking their place as the dominant landmarks. 

A large herd of animals all heading in the same direction were being held back by a large psionic shield. If not for their steady movements you wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart from the grass at that height. On the other side of barrier stood numerous figures clad in armor black as midnight, and twice as oppressive. Claiming to be the firm right hand of the Monarch but in actuality, were akin to a heavy gauntleted grip resting on your shoulder. Ever present. 

The herd was bunched up at one point between two of the larger hills and the shield stood like a fence cutting of the beasts from the Valisi’s camp beyond the hills, a large contingent of Gyiyg armsmen diligently packed away and transported equipment, technology, supplies and vehicles throughout the camp into the tall stone building. Various windows in the structure were lit and it stood tall against the horizon becoming a bright beacon in the on-coming dark as the sun set.

A smaller portion of the soldiers waited back from the front line where two of the armsmen stood behind the shield bearers. One held what Vý could only guess was seven, or maybe eight dozen devices suspended in the air above them in a telekinetic grip. While the other bowed theatrically like a ringleader introducing his first act.

The armsman made no further movements and one by the orbs lobbed over the shield, landing among the Dridens. For a few moments nothing changed, then there was shift in the line of the shieldbearers as they all seemed to step forward. Sending forth a telekinetic wave thirty Gyiyg strong, thirty well honed minds working as one. Sharpened by relentless training. 

The shield fell for an instant and the animals were thrown back, a beeping noise rang through the night and the orbs flashed for a moment before the ground where they landed shook and bucked beneath the Dridens hooves. 

Another wave of the orbs sailed through the night sky, like small silver songbirds darting through the air. Some of the Dridens fell into deep sleep, others tagged by the pulses of energy that flowed out from the palm sized objects, were suddenly frozen causing a few to be stuck in place and others to tip over as their forward moment worked against them sending their numb forms tumbling into the grass. 

Still more and more M.E.D.s were launched and where these landed, more ferocious tremors knocked the Dridens around causing thick chunks of the ground to be torn and flung sending the remaining beasts careening into each other as they were thrown around the field. 

For a moment they just watched the carnage, those lucky few who hadn’t been caught in the waves of psionic weaponry had scattered into the wide open plains and hills, fleeing away from the epicenter of destruction. 

A cheer went up from the soldiers as they crowded around the one who had enacted the strategy, voicing their admiration of a job well done. None noticed the pair of Gyiyg that flew overhead silent as ghosts, entering through the roof of stone tower. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183606246940/chapter-7-past-and-present


	9. Supply and Demand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What fun can be had with proper motivations and a talent for mayhem?

\------------------------------

148; 0106 U.V.A.

\------------------------------

The pair entered one of the musty old rooms near the top of the tower. There was a small bit of light pouring from the high windows at the corners of the room, the last fleeting bits of brightness fading as night fast approached. 

Nish dusted off one of the small boxes in the room and used it as a seat, while Vý looked around. The room was a moderately sized square space filled with stacks upon stacks of crates and boxes of various sizes and shapes, some were covered with tarps while others were left bare. A thin film of dust covered everything in the room and Vý could see tiny dust motes dancing in the light beams as they swirled through the air, knocked free by the movement of the two Gyiyg.

She approached a large stone door that was the only exit and pushed against it, though the door did not budge. She tried again using Telekinesis, and with muscles both physical and mental it shifted. Opening slightly to reveal a hallway lined with long windows nearly reaching both the ceiling and the floor. She closed the door and walked back over toward Nish as she said.

“R.I.O.S. give me a scan of the whole tower, we need to know every single floor of this place from top to bottom.”

“Error. Information cannot be provided. Attempts to examine structure impeded by Relay Jammer ” The A.I. responded with it’s flat synthesized voice.

“What could those lap dogs be up to all the way out here?” said Vý.

Nish broke from her meditations opening one eye in curiosity. “What’s a relay jammer?”

Vý dusted off one of the other boxes in the room, using it for a seat as she set her bag down. Sneezing from the dust that floated through the air, small bits of it stuck to her Pancho and fur.

“It what you use when you don’t want someone in your business.” She held her right hand out in front of her and the Pangolin activated, metal flowing from the back of her hand washing up her arm all the way to the shoulder encasing it in metal armor. She tapped her finger on her other shoulder and a small drip of the metal separated and encased the other arm as well, the metal was a grey color, a few shades darker than her fur. The ends of her fingers sharpened points, ready to claw and slash any foe who got to close.

“Hand me your bag real quick.” 

Nish passed the parsel to her and the small Gyiyg quickly emptied the contents of her own bag into Nishs, before handing it back to her. She slipped the empty bag over her shoulder and went back to the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Getting supplies so we can start this job in earnest. Rest up and regain some strength, we’ll need it soon.”

Vý tapped one finger to her temple and the metal shifted around her head and ears to form a snug helmet sporting a visor. 

She pressed against the door, eking it open just enough to peak outside. When she was sure no one would walk past, she quickly slipped into the dark hallway staying crouched low and close to the wall.

Vý tentatively crept forward, making her way down the circular corridor lined with more doors to what she assumed were more storage rooms till she found a set of stairs. She waited at the top of them listening carefully for movement or the distant sounds of conversation, when she heard neither she continued on repeating this process for three more floors. As she reached the bottom of a another set of stairs she heard the echoes of conversation reverberating off the stone walls.

She put her back to the wall and slowly peaked around the corner spotting three Valisi highgards, one stood in front of a door leaning casually on its carved stone frame as two more approached from farther down the hall. Carrying boxes filled to the brim with palm sized silver spheres, the taller of the two called out as they approached.

“Hey Yuin, we got more M.E.D.s,” 

Yuin pushed off the wall and opened the door behind him. “More still? This is the eighth batch of ‘em you two have brought up.” 

The other Gyiyg responded. “The manic fool has enough of these little suckers to level this tower ten times over!”

“You know Laphon, he doesn’t like leaving anything to cha-” The rest of the conversation was cut off as they stored away the boxes of explosives in the room. The three exchanged pleasantries for a few more moments before the pair left, and the guard was alone again at his post. 

_“Need to be quick with this one.” _

Vý formed three balls of metal from her armor with a mental command and levitated them using Telekinesis, lifting them high up in the air till they almost touched the ceiling. When they were high enough she moved them above the guards head. She got down into a running stance, with both hands down in front of her left foot set to spring her into a full sprint at a moments notice.

Focusing on her breathing like she had been taught, she drew air in and let it out in a steady tempo.

She breathed in and bent the psychic energy in her mind to her will, channeling power into her muscles to amplify both speed and strength. She could feel it moving through her muscles and bones, through her sinews and veins bolstering her body and raising it to another level.

She breathed out and cut off the flow of energy dedicated to keeping the metal orbs aloft, they came tumbling down as the mental strings were severed. 

She breathed in and took off bolting straight for the guard, the first orb bounced off his shoulder and he looked up as the second one bounced harmlessly off the front his helmet, occupying his attention **just** long enough. 

Vý was a dark blear of movement bursting from the shadows. Ramming into the sentry with her shoulder the very moment Yuin looked up, knocking him off his feet. She formed a baton in her hands as she landed, clubbing Yuin over the head savagely twice. 

She produced several lengths of metal rope from her Pangolin and tied up the unconscious guard, securing his arms and feet after dragging him into the room he had been guarding.

This room was larger than the one she and Nish had been in, it was wide and circular and had a thick stone pillar in the center connecting the floor to the ceiling. As she entered and closed the door behind her the lights around the room flickered to life revealing the armory and the first outlines of a plan, as Vý saw what tools she had to work with. 

She leaned the unconscious Gyiyg against a wall and tapped a finger to the Pangolin on the back of their hand, mentally commanding R.I.O.S. to download all of its information.

She would need the floor plan of this place if she was to have any hope of success. 

To her left was rack after rack of portable railguns, long range weaponry made to launch cylindrical shaped PSI shields as ammunition using piezoelectromagnetic force to fire psionic attacks at ludicrous speeds.

All around the room were wooden boxes stacked on top of each other, every stack dedicated to a different weapon. There were storage containers stuffed to the brim with M.E.D.s, Pangolins, Burners, Transmitters, A.P.R. Systems and more. If she wasn’t suspicious about the Valisi’ operations before, she definitely was now.

Vý wasted no time and began stuffing her bag full of ‘supplies’. She started with the smaller devices first grabbing handfuls of Pangolin’s and Transmitters, the arrowhead and rectangular shaped tech clattered with the sounds of loose metal as she lined her bag with as many of the devices as she could.

Next she grabbed three dozen M.E.D.s filling more space in the bag and every last pocket of her Pancho with the silver spheres.

After filling the bag near full to bursting with loot she managed to fit two A.P.R. Systems in the last bit of space. A pair of flat white boxes with green glowing insignias branded on the sides, fitting on top of the other stolen tech snuggly taking up the last of the space in her bag.

She grabbed one of the Piezo’s off the gun rack, resting it on her shoulder as she left the room and unconscious guard behind. Slipping back up the stairs with a bulging bag over one shoulder and a weapon resting on the other returning to her hiding spot in the room near the top of the tower to begin her operation in earnest.

Night had truly taken hold as the higher parts of the tower were now submerged in shadows and darkness. The only light illuminating its halls being the intermittent bars of artificial moonlight bleeding in from the windows. 

Vý had her visor emit a beam of light as she entered the old storage room. Nish was still meditating in her spot on one of the boxes near the back of the small space, she stood as the smaller Gyiyg approached.

“How was the supply run?” 

Vý turned slightly to show the stuffed bag she carried. “Plentiful, We can get this job started if you’d be so kind as to transport us to the roof.”

Nish picked up her bag and placed her hand on Vý’s shoulder, the two shimmered with a soft blue energy before becoming slightly transparent. They steadily rose into the air till they phased through the ceiling and were on the roof of the tower. 

The sky was cloudless and clear, the simulacrum of a moon hung in the sky casting a pale coat of lunar luminescence across the land. The night air was crisp and fresh, a stark improvement compared to the dust filled room. 

Once they regained their solid forms Vý got to work with no delay. She set the railgun she had been resting on her shoulder down to her left and set the bag full of military grade technology down in front of her, opening it as she sat cross legged.

She began organizing the tech she had taken, setting the two white boxes off to her right next to a growing pile of silver orbs.

Nish stood just behind her staring down at the girl rapt in her work as Vý sifted through the stolen goods inspecting her haul with a critical eye and quick hands. 

“Hand me three of those empty bottles from your bag.”

Nish retrieved the requested items and set them down next to the M.E.D.s,

The monk watched curiously as her partner in this mad scheme worked and tinkered. Vý grabbed one of the silver spheres from the pile, holding it between her thumb and index fingers as the sharp pointed fingertips of her gauntlet dug slightly into the metal. In her other hand a small thin tool had materialized, she carefully drove it into the side of the M.E.D.. 

It made a clicking noise that rose in pitch the further she fed the tool into the device. She removed it and poked several other spots repeating the process, till a ring of light appeared on its surface and the sphere split into two equally sized halfs. She unstoppered one of the bottles and began transferring a dark blue liquid from inside the M.E.D.s, filling the three bottles with the material and setting aside the jars of bottled midnight near the Piezo.

The sleek black and purple firearm caught Nishs eye next.

She pointed to it asking. “What’s that?”

“Piezo. Short for Piezoelectric Railgun, it’s made to launch Shield PSI as ammo.” She gave a quick clipped answer, as if she was only barely listening while she began rifling through the Pangolins next. They rattled noisily against the Transmitters in the bag as she grabbed one after another running them over the Pangolin installed on the back of her hand to scan the information stored in each, the data showed up on the display in her helmet as she sifted through the collection in search of a suitable replacement. 

“Military standard Pangolins, Cthylla MK VIII’s with the standard modules; Armor, Helmet, Cannons and Rifles, Melee Weaponry, Anti-Grav Field, Jetbooster. No Binary Drills nor Polarity Shifters but it’s a definite improvement over what I have.”

She held one of the Pangolins over the one bonded to the back of her hand. “R.I.O.S. transfer A.I. to new host device.” Vý commanded.

A beam of red light shot up from the device on Výs hand into the new one she held directly above it. She tapped her finger twice on the Pangolin attached to the back of her hand and the metal protecting her arms and head fell away oxidizing and degenerating rapidly. She removed the old model tossing it into the bag and set the newer and freshly stolen Pangolin in the same spot on her hand.

She said "Pangolin. Confirm neurolink." The device beeped once before sinking slightly into her skin, she was used to the subtle burning sensation that came and went quickly. 

"R.I.O.S. activation confirmed. Mistress it’s seems you’ve...procured more suitable equipment, very good. Might I suggest you sell your former Pangolin to Slim? That old Mook never passes up a chance to make a few extra credits.”

With a thought she activated the armor module of her new Pangolin, the black metal encased her body from the neck down in a dark armor fitting under her Pancho but over her skin. She packed away the two white boxes, most of the M.E.D.s, and all but one Pangolin back into the bag. 

“Put this on.” Vý said, tossing one of the newer Pangolins to Nish as she stood picking up the bag full of ‘supplies’ followed by the Piezo, slapping it onto her back as magnetic locks secured the weapon into place for quick use. 

Nish felt slightly dumbfounded, the whole process of Výs preparations had taken little over eight or nine minutes.

“What’s your plan?” said Nish. 

She looked down at the Pangolin in her hands and then back to Vý.

“You **do** have a plan right?” 

Vý turned her nose up in mock offense, “Why of course I have a plan, you should be ashamed for even assuming otherwise!”

A devious grin lined her face, one born of a life spent making mischief. “I’m not entirely sure that you’ll like what it is, but I **do** have one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183639935006/chapter-8-supply-and-demand


	10. Striking the Anvil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares creeping up from the depths, snapping at the heels of the divines.

\------------------------------

148; 0106 U.V.A.

\------------------------------

The M.E.D. made a low-tuned click as she embedded it within the designated spot in the wall of the tower.

“Okay that’s the last one. Are you in place?” Said Nish as she glided through the night sky, intangible and near invisible. 

Vý’s voice came through clear in her helmet. “Yeah I’m good to go, we can start whenever you’re ready.”

Nish descended, landing amongst the grass just out of sight and a short walk away from the camp based at the tower. She could see Gyiyg ambling about the area and it seemed that after their victory over the local fauna the Valisi had relaxed their security somewhat as there were no patrols moving about the area.

The soldiers had formed massive bonfires between the few tents that had been set back up. Large plumes of smoke rose hazily into the sky and from where she sat in the grass she could hear the buzz of numerous intermingled conversations and smell the aroma of burning wood and food as they roasted several of the Dridens.

She was still slightly uncertain about the Pangolin Vý had given her, as she preferred her staff and psychic abilities over technology but the short Gyiyg had insisted and she seemed to be knowledgeable when it came to these things so Nish had elected to trust her judgment. 

From what she had been told the device would respond automatically to her mental commands, though she had decided against using the A.I. function as she wasn’t exactly receptive to the idea of another consciousness sitting on her shoulder, spoon-feeding her instructions within her mind. Even if it wasn’t exactly....real, maybe it was the very fact that it wasn’t real that unnerved her. 

Her Pangolin activated with a thought and the now familiar metallic liquid enveloped her limbs, tail and torso, forming a set of ivory plated armor under her toga. 

She threw a couple test jabs to get a feel for the difference in mobility. To her surprise, the armor’s weight was hardly noticeable. It had no effect on her agility and lent a heavy weight to her strikes, augmenting her strength.

Nish rummaged through her bag and got out the golden dodecahedron, it cast a dull glow and pulsed rhythmically like a heart in her hand. She opened her mind to the psionic wellspring and drank deeply of its waters drawing in as much energy she could for the task at hand.

A relaxing sensation overwhelmed her body as she let herself dive deeply into the crashing waves and restless ocean of psychic power, attempting to draw in its essence through every last pore. 

_“Err on the side of caution my child, Till you are able to fully bear the mantle, it will be dangerous to take in that much power. Your body will need training to grow accustomed to this amount of PSI.”_

After a few more moments she hesitantly cut off her connection to the shape, heeding Caedin’s advice and storing it away before checking the straps on her bag to make sure it would not fly free during the skirmish.

“Grandmother, before I begin, I would ask you something that’s been on my mind as of late.” She looked up to sky as she spoke to Caedin.

_“Yes my child?”_

“Why is it that you've chosen to force Vý into the role you wish her to take instead of approaching her as a partner or perhaps as a benefactor?" 

Nish focused her will on a portion of her suit and the metal responded instantly. Moving from her hand, to her staff.

_ "The significance of the work that must be done is immense. I could not chance her saying no, so she was not given a choice."_

"But will she not bear malice toward you?"

She mentally molded the Pangonlins’ metal, wrapping it around her weapon and exaggerating its features. The wings that formed the top of the staff became a support system for another set of larger white wings made from the shifting alloy, in a few moments her staff had been transformed into a fierce-looking warhammer.

_"I can accept that consequence. What you must understand is that what I do, I do for the whole of the Virindis so she may feel whatever she likes so long as she does what she is told.” _

She pulled her hood up and began walking toward the camp of the Valisi and the fifty-five floor stone structure that was their temporary residence. 

“I do hope that you two can reach some sort of common ground.”

As she approached, Gyiyg had started to take notice. Pointing at the warrior clad in white that had appeared from the plains, four Valisi walked forward to meet her as she got closer. Her weapon rested casually on her shoulder and all eyes were on her, not only the highgards gathered before her around the bonfires but the soldiers crowded around the windows up in the Kial Tower as well, curious to see who had come.

_“It is highly unlikely.” _

Nish pointed with her new hammer at the foremost soldier in the group and said.

“Bring me the Monarchs Aegis, bring forth Laphon.” 

The armsman seemingly unfazed by Nishs sudden appearance called out in an authoritative tone.

“You are interfering with Valisi Highgard operations. By the grace of the Monarch and in the name of the Triumvirate, this is your first and final warning; vacate the premises immediately!” 

The three Gyiyg behind him had formed their own weapons as he finished his warning. 

Nish pointed with her free hand and a volley of cryogenic psychic energy rocketed off her palm without warning catching the first Gyiyg in his chest knocking him on his back. As he attempted to get up into a sitting position, a chunk of ice slammed into his chest laying him out. 

His compatriots were eager to take his place rushing the ivory clad Gyiyg with no hesitation. 

The first came from the left lunging with a spear as he dashed forward. Nish sidestepped the spear point, dancing to the right as the other Highgards attacked with long blades that gleamed in the moonlight as they flew at her, ready to cleave her in two from above.

She swung her hammer flowing seamlessly from the side step to the right, spinning into a backswing by planting her foot and pivoting. She sent a psychokinetic wave out as the hammer whipped through the air, pushing back the three Valisi who had attacked her and causing one of the fires to be extinguished. The soldiers at the other fires split into two groups, some going to check on their fellow armsmen while others advanced on Nish with haste.

The monk thrust her hand forward and beams of psychic power arched out from her fingertips in an intricate web of light criss-crossing and overlapping in a mad dash toward the oncoming Valisi as she levitated backwards away from the tower, silently beckoning them to follow. They obliged her without pause or second thought. Giving chase by feet and flight. Several lucky or skilled armsmen were able to dodge her PK Beam assault, though it seemed that just as many had been tagged and thrown through the air or off their feet by her PSI attacks.

She landed, embedding the handle of her hammer deep in the ground in front of her. 

“Now!” She said hurriedly.

More metal shifted off the hammer to create a wall for her to use as cover, and she counted down the precious fleeting seconds till they would reach her. One of the armored Gyiyg vaulted over the wall, hand outstretched to slash at her with razor sharp claws.

The second the soldier reached the apex of their hop over the seven foot barrier, a thin shaft of darkness pierced his back. It tore through him effortlessly, kicking up bits of dirt and grass where the shot hit the ground.

The force of the round pitched him forward and he landed face first, left limp and lifeless in the grass behind Nish. 

\---

From her vantage point Vý watched the carnage unfold through the scope of a high powered railgun kneeling on one knee and taking aim with her weapon, resting its barrel on the crenellations of the tower.

“Now!” She heard Nish call out in her helmet.

She trained her sights on the soldier closest to Nish’s makeshift cover. Pulling the trigger the very second their hand gripped the wall for leverage to hoist themselves over it.

The highgards open back was easy prey and the psychic shield cylinder that sped through it was like a voracious predator silently pouncing from the shadows without warning or hesitation. 

She took down two more with the same merciless efficiency, tagging both with a single shot in the center of the back. 

The Valisi took notice of her presence then, breaking off into groups of threes and fours hiding under psychic shield domes to protect themselves as Nish had begun peeking from behind her wall and firing on them with her arm cannon, pinning the soldiers down between the two of them..

Vý grabbed a specialized clip she had prepared beforehand, slotting it in on the underside of the weapon with a satisfying mechanized click. This time her aim was focused on nowhere in particular electing to pepper the area around the armsmen to let them know it was in their best interests to stay put till she emptied her clip. 

She looked over the side of the tower and a number of the Valisi had begun flying up toward the roof to forestall further sniping. She rose from her kneeling position lifting her firearm and attaching it to her back with a magnetic lock, securing it in place so she could quickly reach over her shoulder and grab it at a moments notice.

Reaching into one of the pockets of her pancho she grabbed a M.E.D., numerous readouts in her helmets heads up display showed the total amount of energy it currently had stored. 

“R.I.O.S. detonate numbers one through six.” She ordered.

The tower shook beneath her as a sequence of six explosions sent shockwaves up and down the structure. She pressed a button on the surface of the silver device and her whole body shimmered for a moment before turning a pale opaque shade of blue. It felt as if a light breeze had gently rustled her fur all over. 

She used the thrusters on her back and the bottoms of her feet to direct herself downward, soaring through floor after floor of stone like a spirit. The first few were pitch black as she flew from room to room and as she got further and further down the tower she darted past scurrying groups of Gyiyg scrambling to react to the sudden and unforeseen assault. 

The commotion was at the forefront of their attention her and she slipped beneath the soldiers notice, making her way to the location the map data she had download referred to as ‘[Project Valéria Vita]’. 

It was located in a area on the twenty-fifth floor that was heavily guarded on the outside by fifteen or so vigilant Valisi. On the inside, however, there was but one scientist and two highgards assigned to his protection. She gave a silent prayer to Solara for small miracles, through the irony of which was not lost on her.

The architecture of the tower was built with community in mind as the first five floors were built as one massive chamber with stairs leading up to balcony after balcony built on top of each other, the next five floors were dedicated to storage and this pattern repeated all the way to the building's peak. In the center of the tower was a colossal pillar that acted as an transit system, using a network of pulleys and levers that could be operated by several teams to move the citizens and their items up and down the floors of the tower or even further down to the network of tunnels that connected every tower in the hillands to each other. 

On the balconies there were several districts and residential areas filled with square houses some rising to stand three or four stories high, hewn straight from the stone. The undertaking of molding what was a solid monolith of rock into a suitable living area must’ve been a monumental task.

A small part of her held pride for the Gyiyg of the past who came to this barren rock in the middle of nowhere and had the conviction to turn it into what they needed. 

Vý phased through the twenty sixth floor moving closer toward the elevator to use it as cover, diving inside it as she intermittently poked her head out of the stone to see if her approach was being noticed by anyone. She flew down toward the topmost balcony, landing on one of the squat abodes backed by the elevator pillar. It was a long building set in a ducked off spot neighbored by two three story homes that hid it away quite well. From where she approached she saw several guards posted near the buildings front entrance and had no doubt there were more hidden on the rooftops of the adjacent buildings. 

She crouched down on the roof of the building picking a spot between two chimneys for cover as she landed quietly, pressing a button on the silver sphere to regain her corporeal form. With a quick mental command to her Pangolin she produced a small tool in her hand to further modify the tech to give herself an entry point into the building.

_“Okay just need to change the projection field from ‘Attunement to a psionic signature’ to ‘Localized command’. This thing should have enough juice to make a decent opening.”_ Vý thought as she inserted the wiry tool into the orb.

With her thin tool halfway buried within the M.E.D. she palmed the sphere and ran the part of her tool jutting out of the device along the roof, leaving a blue line behind like a trail of luminescent ink, she drew a square and once she completed the shape. The area inside the box turned the same pale opaque shade of blue she herself had been only moments before.

She placed the now used up M.E.D. off to the side as she ducked her head into the ‘phased out’ part of the roof hoping that no one was looking up at this particular moment. Inside were rows of translucent glass cubes of varying sizes containing various animals. Each specimen suspended in a bluish-green fluid had wires and machines connected to their head. She recognized a few of them; Artelsian, Gabilan, Crested Booka, Driden.

The room was moderately sized as five rows of captured creatures filled the space, before each tank was a panel with buttons that seemed to make adjustments to the machines housing the animals. On the far end near the only entrance to the room was a chair and a small portable foldable desk with tall stacks of hardlight sheets and a solitary screen that hung in mid air above it. The door to the left of the desk opened and a Mook wearing a black cloak with skin a shade of dark green entered the room flanked by two highgards, following close behind him.

He went over to the floating screen and sat down waving a tentacle in front of it to active the computer, a holographic keyboard appeared and the Mook began typing away enraptured in his work. The two bodyguards obviously use to this routine milled around looking at the animals in the cubes and making small talk.

She lifted her head back through the ‘window’ she made and pulled the Piezo off her back. Vý sat down with her back to the edge of the blue square and leaned backwards, gradually easing herself through the blue box. Using her tail, the back of her knees and ankles she hung upside down and took aim with the psionic rifle.

She waited patiently for the right opportunity to present itself as the two Gyiyg casually strolled around the room looking at the animals in their prisons or making small remarks before letting the room slip back into a mild silence punctuated by the sound of the Mook tapping away on the keyboard and the soft hum of machinery. After a few more moments they had more or less moved to a formation that she could take advantage of; one guard was standing near the Mook watching over him while the other was inspecting one of the dormant animals. A nasty bugger from the deserts of Neveous whose name in the Nevidian language meant ‘Shredding Death’. 

It was a titanic insectoid creature with six scuttling legs and a body that was covered in a red chitinous exoskeleton. It had a long tail covered in segmental plates akin to armor, with a dreadful looking barb that hung at its end. Used in its natural habitat to harpoon prey, the barb was flanked by two blades on either side of it, making the bug’s apedegen look like a crimson trident.

All ten of its eyes were closed and under this multitude of eyes hung a dangerous set of mandibles lined with black serrated edges made to grip, rip and tear. It was a natural juggernaut, an ode to the unforgiving sands that was its usual home. It was just what she needed to even the odds.

Vý fired at the Valisi closest to the Mook. Her shot lancing through his back and chest, ending his life before he even hit the ground. 

The Mook flinched away from the fresh corpse, falling out of his chair with a yelp as it fell forward knocking over the desk and sending the stacks of hardlight documents flying everywhere. Before anyone could react she fired three more shots into the tank the second guard was standing in front of. Shattering it and spilling the blue-green liquid all over the floor, the red brute burst from its confinement making a low pitched scuttling noise that told of fore coming danger. The Valisi pointed, already in the process of shifting one of their hands into a cannon as they tried to back away. But they were too slow.

The creature lunged forward taking its foe in its jaws lifting the Gyiyg up and thrashing him around savagely. Slamming him into the ground over and over again before reaching its tail up and plunging it into what was left of the man. With no delay it searched for its next target, leaving the mangled bits of its victim behind as it turned toward the Mook. 

Before it could take more than three steps Vý unhooked her legs and dropped from the ceiling. Back flipping to turn rightside up as she fell toward the insect. She reached out with her mind, projecting a telekinetic field beneath herself to crush the vicious beast. When she landed it was squished flat to the floor as if an invisible titan had struck it down with a gigantic hand, making a wet crunching noise and spraying a viscous purple ichor all over the floor, walls and the other tanks in the room. Mixing with the bluish green liquid that had spilled out of the broken tank.

She stepped forward with her Piezo pointed toward the Mook who was hiding behind one of the cubes. 

“Alright come on out nice and easy, prehensile tentacles up and no one gets blasted.” 

The Mook moved from behind the tank with six tentacles raised high above his head and eye stalks. He looked nervous with his primary eye in the center of his head staring at her while the other two were unable to look away from the crushed body of the bug. She directed him toward the fallen desk where page after page of hardlight documents littered the floor, he tried to lean down to pick one up.

“Leave it, you’ll have plenty of time to clean that up later.”

He turned slightly and asked. “W-who are you?”

“You’d ask a stranger their name without telling yours first? Especially a stranger who just saved your life?” asked Vý.

“You’re the one who endangered it in the f-f-first place.” He replied indignation slightly lining his voice as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I find semantics to be of little importance when at gunpoint.” She pushed him toward the floating screen that he had been working on earlier. 

“Log in for me Mr…” She trailed off expectantly.

He hesitated a few moments before answering. “Phelldor.” As he waved his tentacle in front of the screen to summon the keyboard, quickly inputting his password and logging into the computer system. 

As he pressed the last key, Vý handed him a hardlight card she produced from her armor.

“Copy all the data into this.”

Phelldor turned around looking as if he was about to voice complaint before he was jabbed sharply in the back with the barrel of the Piezo, the warning plain as day. He took the card and inserted it into the side of the floating screen and began tapping away on the keyboard. 

For the first time she noticed that every one of the cubes containing a creature, was connected to a set of cables that all led to the back of the room. 

“You mind telling me where those cables lead?”

Her hostage stayed silent as he worked to fulfill her request and a few moments later he removed the card from the computer terminal and handed it back to Vý. As soon as she touched it the card was digitized, losing its solid form and transfering all the information into her suit. 

“Thank you, Phelldor,” Vý said, her voice taking on a overly exaggerated tone of lament. “You’ve been a wonderful hostage, but alas, it seems our time together is at an end.”

She returned the Piezo to its place on her back and conjured numerous lengths of metallic rope from her armor. She looped it around the Mook’s body tightly to keep him from notifying the guards outside. Next she set the chair that had been knocked over right side up and sat the Mook down in the seat, before using her sharp claws to cut off a piece of Phelldors cloak.

“Open up.” She said bundling the fabric into a ball. 

“Is that really necessary?” 

“Was it ‘ really necessary’ for me to stop that thing--” She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. “--from eating you?”

Phelldor looked at the smushed corpse of the scarlet insect and then to the bodies of the Gyiyg who had been assigned to protect him and sighed before opening his mouth, knowing full well that he was lucky to get out of this with his life. She put the bundle of black cloth in the Mooks mouth and secured it in the same fashion she had done with his limbs. 

“Nish you good?” She asked as she walked away from Phelldor.

Sounds of explosions and yelling could be heard in the background over their communication system, and a few moments went by before the reply came. “Having the time of my life, how we doing on that plan of yours?”

“Good so far, I just retrieved the info on what the Monarchs hounds have been up to so get out of there.”

She began walking toward the back of the room where all the wires converged.

“R.I.O.S. give us the rundown of the Valisi operations.” 

As she stepped over cables and around puddles she could see that they all were connected to a metallic box about as tall as she was. A little over five feet in height it had a screen, several buttons, switches, and an antenna at the top of it giving off subtle waves of psychic energy like a whisper on the fringes of her extra sensory perception. The A.I. began detailing the contents of the new data it had received. 

“‘Project Valéria Vita’ experiments with artificial intelligence, mimicking the brain waves of numerous animals imported from around the Virindis system and housing the creatures minds within weaponized android bodies. It goes on to detail other sites in Nucade with more labs dedicated to the ‘Chimerization’ of animals and artificial intelligence based on the brainwaves of sapient beings. Based on the work of a Professor Ithos developed in U.V.A. 0088. There are references to other projects as well, but no info on where or what they could be. ”

She slipped each hand in a pocket in her poncho and withdrew them, revealing another M.E.D. in one hand and the gold geometric shape in the other. Gold and Silver, she chuckled to herself as she turned opaque and walked through the wall. 

_“Fetching the gods with the moons in my hands.”_ She thought, stifling another laugh as she mused about the absurdity of her ‘god’ given task.

She gripped the dodecahedron, it was about five inches in diameter and glowed dully. 

**Are you ready?** The question suddenly sprang to the forefront of her mind and she felt the psionic catalyst directing her downward. 

“I’m heading for the next shrine.” Said Vý diving down the pitch black shaft of a grand structure that had long since fallen into disuse.

“Just wait for me, I can-” 

Vý cut her off. “No I’ll go first and active the idol that’ll summon the Qiqothe, Caedin will banish them again and by the time you get there they’ll be gone.” 

She noticed more of the boxes she had seen in the lab had been installed in the elevator shaft, placed at intervals of about fifty feet.

“Then you can just scoop me up, trust me I’ve thought this through.”

She reached the bottom of the dark passageway and flew south phasing through several chambers that had fallen into disrepair, abandoned for little over a century. Linked by intricate underground pathways lined with quartz crystals for light. Underground gardens seemed to be this towers specialty as she passed room after room of what must've been a massive farming operation intended to feed the towers many inhabitants.

She deactivated her suit’s propulsion system stopping in one of the enormous tunnels. At its end she could see a chamber with a pedestal in the center of a room. She pressed a few buttons on the M.E.D. to regain solidity before putting it away as she walked into the room.

If the area she had entered in Amati city was a church then this place was a cathedral. All around the chamber were seven large tunnels like the one she came through, high arches and columns forming doorways splendidly decorated with silver and the usual quartz crystals common in older Gyiyg architecture. As she walked further she came to a set of stairs that led down to a pedestal in the center of four columns, each having draconic effigies curled around them like stoic protectors.

The golden disk that topped the pedestal was embedded deeply in the expertly carved stone. Above the shrine was a massive crystal illuminating the chamber with soft violet light. 

Scattered around the room were more of the boxes she’d seen in the lab and elevator shaft, she could feel the antennas giving off a latent energy.

_“Seems like we aren’t the only ones getting handouts from the Gods.”_ She mused.

Vý walked down the stairs and up to the golden disk, keeping hold of the geometric object attempting to wrench itself free from her hand and make contact with disk, like a pet eager to return to its masters side. When she got close enough to reach out and touch the pedestal a M.E.D. landed at her feet. Suddenly a white pulse of energy radiated from the sphere and surrounded her body hoisting her up into the air.

Eight Valisi Highgards teleported in around her, eight fully armored Gyiyg with their arm cannons aimed squarely at her. One of them came to stand next to the pedestal deactivating his helmet and lowering his hand. 

The man was a towering eight feet tall and had black fur a shade so dark that he seemed to be carved from a piece of space itself. His eyes were a piercing blue akin to sapphires, bright gems that cut through all deception with a cool self assuredness hidden behind them. His eyes told the story of a man who had worked everyday to achieve his goals and would let nothing save the Gods themselves waylay him.

She fought to stifle her surprise, this man was the Monarchs Aegis; the right hand to the ruler of Enkei and commander of the Valisi Highgard. 

He said in a resonant voice that she felt as much as heard. “You must be Vý.” 

“A fan? Seems my reputation precedes me. Forgive me for not giving you an autograph but I’m a little tied up at the moment.” The dodecahedron tried to fly forward but she fastened her grip, and hid the slight movement with a chuckle. Seeming to laugh at her own joke.

_“What in the nine thousand hells is the Aegis doing on Enkei’s surface?”_ Vý thought. 

“I was reviewing an altercation you were involved in the other day, resulting in the injury of three and the death of one of my armsmen.” He said in a casual tone as if he were discussing the weather, or the latest news.

“It was shame but it had to be done.” She hunched her shoulders. “You lapdogs are so **damned** persistent in your pursuit of upstanding citizens such as myself, that sometimes I have to get a bit creative. Though, speaking of creativity what in Solara’s name is the Enkeinien government doing experimenting with A.I.?" She said emphasizing the last two syllables, letting a tone of almost genuine confusion ease into her words.

“I thought the Accords made that type of research highly illegal? I hear such things are grounds for another war in the Virindis.” 

His eyes widened slightly and his ears flattened against his head, in an outward expression of surprise. “Impressive, I see you’ve been quite busy. How was Phelldor by the way?”

“Fantastic, the man made a great hostage. If only all captives could be so well behaved.” 

“Do you take captives often?” The dark furred Gyiyg asked.

“I do some freelance bounty hunting to make my credits, but that's enough chit-chat I think. I’ve only one more question for you, Sir Aegis.” She said affecting a sudden formality at the use of his official title.

The Valisi around her hadn’t moved an inch and though she was captured Laphon didn’t get to close, as not to get in the path of one of the highgards aim. 

“What would that be?” He asked curiously as his tail perked slightly.

“Do the words ‘Nabiru Comes’ mean anything to you?” She said as a grin spread across her face.

Laphon’s brow furrowed in confusion, as Vý opened her hand allowing the golden shape to shoot forward like a dart, flying free of the field enveloping her, smacking into the golden disk with a clang as if someone had struck a gong swiftly once. Its echo bouncing off the walls an rising to and unnatural pitch.

Right away a peculiar feeling tapped away at the back of her mind. And the enigmatic otherworldly fear that signaled their coming rooted itself in her gut.

Then she heard them, both in her mind and aloud as the room darkened leaving them stranded on an lonely island of solitary light cast by the crystal overhead, they were suffocated on all sides by a sea of murky shade.

_"Insolent pawns grasping at the regalia of the divine; the thin wisps of the reclaimers presence seeded within innumerable worlds. Your arrogance and vanity will birth a universal cosmic destroyer straining under the weight of its own existence, a blind madgod puppeted by a tyrannical immortal to act out a pointless task. Searring time and space with wounds in preparation for the rending that is to come.”_

The Gyiygs around her obviously heard it too, as they had taken their aim off of her and began looking around for the source of the voice. A shadowy blur whipped past the group and one of them was gone taken by unknown ghouls. 

“Tamyr!” One of the Valisi screamed, letting out a call of pure anger and desperation that even made Vý wince. With no head for his own life the Gyiyg flung himself in the direction the shadow had gone straight into the inky ocean. 

Laphon tried to call out to his soldier but before he could utter a single word the man had dived headlong into death. There was no noise at his passing, no gnashing of teeth nor snapping and breaking of bones, not even the sounds of metal bending and straining that usually heralded broken armor...there was ** nothing. ** The two Gyiyg had been there one minute and were just...** gone ** without a trace the next, leaving naught but an eerie silence in their wake. 

The amalgamation of shadows and darkness converged, allowing light to fill the room once more as it amassed on the set of stairs Vý had used to enter the wide chamber just moments before. The living shade formed itself into a colossal version of phantoms that had appeared in the shrine in Amati city. 

“Allow me to provide proper introductions.” Said Vý letting a small bit of mirth color her tone, though a bit of unease could be heard as well.

This Qiqothe had a long tail that ended in a deadly spiked ball, lumbering limbs knotted with muscle hung at it sides like thick tree trunks ending in three digits. Its upper body, where its collar bone and head should’ve been was an empty jagged space that spewed long tendrils that ungulated; grasping out for something to consume. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183741012666/chapter-9-striking-the-anvil


	11. Greener Pastures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How can one leash the limitless?

\------------------------------

149; 0106 U.V.A.

\------------------------------

She used her telekinesis to redirect a group of rockets aimed at her, as she listened to the A.I. recounting information.

“Project; ‘Valéria Vita’ experiments with artificial intelligence, mimicking the brain waves of numerous animals imported from around the Virindis system and housing the creatures minds within weaponized android bodies. It goes on to detail other sites in Nucade with more labs dedicated to the ‘Chimerization’ of animals and artificial intelligence based on the brainwaves of sapient beings. Based on the work of a Professor Ithos developed in U.V.A. 0088. There are references to other projects as well, but no info on where or what they could be.” At the mention of the professor, her pulse quickened. “Father?” 

Things she hadn’t thought about in years clicked into place within her mind in an instant, Nish had known that her father had made great strides in the field of artificial intelligence and knew to a certain extent that had been part of the reason he had been taken away that day. But she never thought he would help the Enkeinien government develop something like this, maybe he hadn’t been given a choice much like Vý.

The Valisi redoubled their efforts to subdue the monk as the psychic shield domes came down and they rushed her with zealous fury, she decided it was time to make a hasty retreat.

She used her mind to take hold of the firebombs Vý had prepared; lifting them up out of the bag and pitching them both forward. Focusing on the glass objects as they sailed through the air toward the soldiers, locking them in her mind's eye. 

She ignited one of them, lighting the tiniest spark of psychokinetic fire inside the container as the bottle reached the middle of the group of soldiers.

Rushing flames consumed them, in an exploding inferno of gluttonous heat. Devouring all that would fuel it, in an unexpected flash that left the grasslands ablaze and the surviving armsmen reeling. 

“I’m heading for the next shrine.” Vý said through the armors communication system.

“Just wait for me, I can-” Nish started to reply looking on her H.U.D. to find and fly to Vý’s location.

She was already phasing through the ground when Vý cut her off. “No I’ll go first and active the idol that summons the Qiqothe, Caedin will banish them again and by the time you get there they’ll be gone.”

“Then you can just scoop me up, trust me I’ve thought this through.”

Nish bolted in the direction her armor led her, moving through the ground at break-neck pace. She knew it’d be waste of both time and breath to argue further. Focusing instead on making it to shrine as fast as possible while attempting to push the implications of her father's involvement in these experiments to the back of mind as best she could, when she heard a deep voice in her helmet on Vý’s side of the transmission. 

“You must be Vý.”

\---

Down two men already and now he had this otherworldly beast to contend with. This girl had more up her sleeve than he had initially anticipated, finding out who had sent her and for what purpose would be his main priority after quelling this...thing. He was already mentally running over the usual suspects; The Vimmir Penta, Lupara Nyx, The Rodani Collective, The Scholar, Don Fel Vlynari. Any one of them could be working from behind the scenes, pulling strings. 

“Valisi dogs, Qiqothe. Qiqothe, Valisi dogs. I’d suggest that you run.” Vý said with a baleful sigh. “But I already know you won’t.”

He and the remaining Valisi pointed at the monster, each unleashing a constant stream of PK Fire. Four minds bent to the task of utter immolation. The psionic flames had no effect as the inky tendril snapped out of the Qiqothe taking hold of another of the armsmen around the waist.

The other five put out their hand and telekinetically grasped the woman, keeping her from the gaping maw of the eldritch creature as she gripped a pillar for dear life. 

_“Enough!_” Laphon thought, allowing his frustration and rage to rise to a fever pitch as he reached within his mind to gather energy. He bent the psychic power not outward to project it as a PSI ability but **inward** letting it permeate his very being, letting it rise to a grand crescendo that threatened to flatten all in its path.

His body shook and intense waves of psionic aura radiated out around him as his features inverted. His formerly sapphire blue eyes became twin onyx pools of empty void while his black fur took on an otherworldly sheen looking as if it was composed entirely out of blue gemstones. Thousands of brilliant gems seeming to weave together and break apart with his every movement, with even his slightest breath.

The Qiqothe seemed to take notice of Laphon’s metamorphosis releasing the Valisi it had been trying to devour and focusing instead trying to snatch at the Aegis. He put his hand up and the slick black tentacles reaching out at him were turned aside, colliding with a psychic shield. He levitated forward and opened his mouth letting loose a potent burst of PK Thunder that arked from his maw like the lethal screech of an angry god. 

Electricity struck the stairs vaporizing chunks of rock as the Qiqothe dodged with a swiftness unexpected of a beast its size, calling out in everyone’s minds as it swung at Laphon with its gangly limbs. 

_“Lay low unwitting servants, caught in the currents of causality. Dare not stray from the road lest you fall prey to those who wait with glee for such fortunate opportunities to present themselves. A sundered veil may give one sight but blind another.” _

Laphon dodged its swipes, gliding nimbly through the air to avoid the assault. The creature elongated its tail next. Sending it rushing forward to crush the Gyiyg with the massive spiked ball at its end. 

He threw up his hands, erecting a wall of light tinged violet by the light above. 

He blocked the attack, but was forced to land and take a knee from the resounding impact of the tail. His four soldiers teleported to his side, each raising a hand to telekinetically push back and bear some of the weight from the other side of the shield. 

“What’s the plan, sir?” One of them asked. 

Laphon stood back up. He was able to rise to his feet now that the strain had been divided between the him and his armsmen. 

“It seems to be immune to lower levels of offensive PSI, nothing less than gamma level attacks will be able to faze it. Attack on my mark!” He ordered.

He rose into the air above the shield. A bestial roar accompanied the intense torrent of flames that flew from his open mouth as he unleashed a devastating wave of PK Fire.

\--- 

Nish phased through the far wall in the chamber, observing the battle between the Valisi and the mind-flaying horror she was in no hurry to get near.

Laphon was spewing ferocious blasts of fire and the echoes of his roars filled the chamber. Shaking the walls, causing small bits of stone to rain down from the ceiling. Upon seeing his Innate PSI ability she was glad he hadn’t responded to her summons when she had approached the camp. 

And while the appearance of the Qiqothe could never be described as a good thing, Nish was definitely fortunate for the distraction it provided as she established a telepathic link with Vý while moving silently through the floor.

_“What happened? I thought Grandmother was supposed to banish that thing?”_

_“Would you believe she has stage fright?”_

_“Well did you call out for her?”_

_“What? And ruin all this fun we’re having? My credits are on the Qiqothe.”_

_“So you’re just gonna let them get eaten!?Just let them all die?”_

She replied incredulously.

_“I mean...I **was** considering it.”_

_“That’s horrible!”_

_“Come on, don’t be childish! Do you really think if the roles were reversed they’d save us?”  
_

_“That’s not the point!”_

_“Duly noted, we can discuss the ethics and philosophy of the situation later if you’d like. But right now if you’d be a dear and smash this M.E.D. for me so we can get out of here I’d really appreciate it.” _

Nish rose up out of the ground zapping the device with a PK Beam as she crouched next to the pedestal, Vý landed and snatched the golden geometric shape off the disk it had attached itself to, as she flew toward one of the exits. The Monk looked back at the Valisi engaged in the dual with the phantom; there were only three of them left now. Two of the highgards were holding the beast down with telekinesis, and as it thrashed against the mental bonds holding it in place.

The Aegis formed a volatile white cluster of energy between his hands, spitting white hot sparks that could only PK Starstorm.

Vý stopped at the entrance of the one of the tunnels, noticing for the first time that Nish wasn’t behind her. 

_“There’s nothing we can do, come on!”_

Nish took off as a flash of light filled every corner of the room,. Activating her helmet to keep from being blinded as she flew alongside Vý into the relative safety of the tunnels. 

She placed a hand on Vý‘s shoulder turning them both ephemeral as they put as much space as they could between themselves and the Valisi. After a quarter of an hour of flying the two stopped in a secluded room filled with numerous wooden shelves and chairs that must have been two or three towers away from their starting point.

Nish began collecting broken pieces of wooden furniture and old books, whose pages had long since given way to the unforgiving plague that was the passage of time. Starting a fire while Vý examined the two dodecahedrons Ezra had made at Caedin’s request.

“Hey Entity! Want to clue us in on what’s new with these things? Maybe you could start with what we’re doing in the first place?” Vý asked.

The shapes rose out of her hands, one glowing a light green color while the other radiated a blue glimmer. Caedin revealed herself, levitating above the ground as the dodecahedrons floated up into her hands. 

Nish came and sat down. She fed a few more tomes into the flames as she took her place by the fire, waiting patiently to hear the goddess’s words.

_ “You’ve both done well, my children, you will soon be ready to journey to the city above and begin the true work I’ve in mind for you. But before that, you must take the first steps in becoming more than what you are now.”_

“What doe…” Was all Vý could say before the lights surrounding the shapes flared up, making even Caedin’s internal glow seem paltry in comparison.

When the intense shine faded, there were two more beings standing behind Caedin. They were both similar to a Gyiyg much like Caedin, but at the same time they were wholly unique. 

One had deep blue fur and seemed to be made of water, as if her body was comprised of an ever-shifting ocean. Her eyes were entirely blue, lacking both irises and pupils. She had a fin that started at the top of her head and went down the back of her neck. Her tail had a tailfin, and her hands were webbed like an aquatic Gyiyg of some sort. 

The other had fur that was a verdant green, the same color as a lush, healthy forest. His eyes matched the first in terms of having no noticeable ocular components. However, to contrast his companion’s aquatic traits, he had hooves made of stone and antlers comprised of some type of wood. They arched in intricate patterns of symmetry like a natural crown that rose from his brow.

They both had a set of golden rings around their wrists and ankles, and their shoulders were draped with warm, comfortable cloaks. In the style of a chlamys, a fashion once popular with the Gyiyg of old for both its comfort and simplicity. The living gods’ cloaks seemed to be comprised of a material that was some sort of transfusion between silk, silver and pure ethereal light. 

“I give you Lith-kah liege of ‘What was’ and Mia-zymat liege of ‘What is’.”

There was a short awe filled silence broken by Vý as she said, “Liege of Literature and Lore? He who brings remembrances that we may know the path those before us have walked? The storyteller and myth maker? Lord of Fables?”

_ “I believe those are some of my titles, yes.”_ The green entity said, smiling slightly.

Vý turned to the aquatic-looking Gyiyg, still sounding incredulous. “And the Liege of Building and Artistry? She who lays the foundations that we build upon? The first stone carver and metallurgist? Lady of Inspiration?”

_ “Well met, young one.” _ Mia-zymat said bowing slightly to Vý in greeting.

It was the first time Nish had heard Vý speak with anything close to reverence. It was noticeably different from the open disdain she gave Caedin, or the witty sarcasm she addressed the monk with. There was some real respect when she spoke the names and titles of these beings.

“I never took you as the religious type.” Nish said.

Vý coughed. “Well, you’ll never catch me with my head bowed in reverence at the Ysod sermons or anywhere near a church, but I find it helps to have a deity or two looking out for you,” she said before tossing another book into the fire. “I mind my P’s and Q’s and leave a few credits for the Priestesses when I see them out and about in the city.”

“So tell me plain, Caedin.” She said using the entities name for the first time. “What’s this ‘mantling’ business you keep bringing up?”

_ “It is the process of taking on and taming the power of a divine. You--”_ Caedin pointed to Vý, _ “shall bear the mantle of Lith-Kah. And Nish will be paired with Mia-zymat. As you work together, you will grow accustomed to each other and sync your psychic signatures.” _

The golden shapes flew away from Caedin levitating over to each Gyiyg. They both reached out to catch the dodecahedron but the objects melted and flowed over their hands like rivers of gold. Forming a bracelet around the monks wrist and a necklace with a miniature version of the geometric shape around the shorter Gyiyg’s neck.

In the center of Vý’s palm was a glowing green symbol of an upside down triangle with a line cutting through it horizontally, and she could see a similar light emanating from Nish’s hand as well. 

Vý showed Nish her palm and the Gyiyg mirrored the gesture, displaying a blue upside down triangle in the center of her own hand casting her face in an azure aura. 

_ “Speak the true names of these gods. Tell me their purest essence before they became entities of a higher plane.”_

The name rose to the forefront of Vý’s mind as if she had known it her entire life. 

“Kial.” She said. 

She could feel her heart thumping in her chest not with anxiety but with excitement. Excitement, tempered with a bit of uncertainty.

A few seconds later Nish answered “Amati.”

Lith-Kah and Mia-zymat both vanished from behind Caedin, and the light on Vý and Nish’s hands died down leaving golden tattoos of the symbol imprinted on their palms. 

_ “Harmonize the dichotomy born of the union between mortal and immortal, bring the Virindis its freedom.” _

Her work now done, Caedin shed her corporeal form. Fading into nothingness, leaving the pair to try and wrap their minds around the last few days events. They were both transfixed with the mark that had been etched into each of their palms, and it was a few minutes before Nish spoke up.

“Where do you think she goes when she disappears like that?”

Vý shrugged her shoulders “I assume to blackmail and subtly threaten people other than us. The real question is what can it hear?”

Nish telekinetically floated several more musty tomes into the fire, all the while staring at her hand not even looking up as she replied. “What do you mean?”

“The entity showed up as soon as I called out to it, so is it Omnivident? Omnipresent? Or are there gaps in its field of awareness?”

_ ”Yes, Yes, and not that I know of but I encourage you to try and find some.”_ Answered a voice from nowhere. 

Vý sighed while she poked around in her bag looking for something to eat. “And why are **you** still here?” She settled on one of the many fruits grown on Cades surface, peeling back the ivory skin to reveal a purple-colored succulent center. 

Nish looked up from her hand for the first time, giving Vý a disapproving glare. “There’s no need to be rude. At least he’s giving us some answers.” 

“Could you take on take on a physical form so we can speak with some semblance of normalcy please?” Nish requested.

The insignia on Vý’s hand illuminated for a moment and the green god revealed himself to be on the other side of the fire lying on his side. One hand supporting his head while the other idly scratched his back, the very picture of a carefree layabout. 

Vý took a bite of the citrusy violet fruit as she continued to peel it, tossing the rind into the fire as she ate. The discarded fruit skin gave off a savory earthy smell as it burned. 

“Okay, so if it can see everything and be everywhere. What does it need us for?”

Before Lith-Kah could speak Nish answered the question, her tone betraying the sudden realization. “Because she **can’t** interact with the physical world.” 

_ “Exactly. She’ll enter your dreams in a heartbeat and can use PSI, but that is the extent of her capabilities that I know of.”_

“And it can’t be killed?” She questioned. 

_ “Not at all. Though, a better way to explain it would be to say ‘there's nothing **to** kill.”_ He replied as he sat up looking at the both of them. The fire light reflected off of the gods strange eyes like glimmering emeralds. 

_ “Once you begin to operate on a dimensional spectrum that high up, concepts like ‘death’ or ‘time’ shed away with the nonchalance a normal man might display when taking off a coat after a long walk in the cold.”_

He snapped his fingers like he had just figured out the answer to a particularly difficult riddle. 

“Now that I think about it, that’s a great metaphor for mortality!” 

She tossed the last bits of her meal into the searing flames, filling the room with a pleasant aroma. “Well I’ve had enough horrifying realizations for one day. Feel free to go back to being invisible or whatever it is you do to hide yourself from us.”

Vý got out one of the blankets from Nish's bag and used it as a makeshift pillow lying down with her back to the fire, Lith-Kah only laughed to himself in response as he slowly faded from view. While Nish stared into the slowly dwindling fire, contemplating her role in all of this. 

_ |I can sense the strife within your heart child, do you wish to discuss these thoughts?|_

Mia-zymat’s question resounded within Nish’s mind.

_|Three days ago I was gardening and arguing with Kella, now I’m off to the city to do...something…and then there’s this business with father...It’s just a lot to take in.|_

_ |You are overwhelmed, that is to be expected. Such drastic changes can leave one reeling….|_

She breathed deeply in and out as she wrapped her tail around her body and her arms around her knees. Though the conversation was telepathic Nish could feel the melancholy behind the entities' words, as if it was her own. 

_ |And..._ \--Mia-zymat paused momentarily, putting thought into her choice of words. _ You have not yet decided if you will trust her to help you find the truth.|_

_|I don’t know if I can...she’s just so...ruthl-|_

_ |Is that not what you would need to accomplish your goal? Ruthlessness?|_

_|Well yes b-|_ She started to argue but was quickly hushed by the goddesses quick response. 

_ |And if she was as ruthless as you claim why would she have volunteered herself to be present when the Qiqothe appeared? Knowing full well the effects of merely being in the presence of such as creature can cause.| _

The conversation had become one-sided quite quickly. With a swiftness, Nish had not expected from one who sounded so aloof and subdued.

_|...I thought th-|_

_ |She was being impulsive?| Mia said, finishing the womans thought. _

The monk could only stare in silence at the crackling flame as her argument fell apart like the spare wood she had used to kindle the fire.

_ |Make no mistake, for this woman is everything you think her to be; A killer? Yes.|_

_ |A liar? Without question.|_

_ |A thief? Definitely.|_

_ |Impulsive to a fault? Certainly.|_

Mia-zymat let another poignant pause punctuate her words before she continued.

_ |She is all of these things and more. I see her mind, body, and soul as easily as you see the embers within that dying fire. Know this, Child, we are only given so much thread with which to weave the tapestry of our lives. Some more than others, some less. With such limitations present, you would not be remiss in thinking that those with less material to work with would leave messy and shoddy work behind.| _

_|This is a misconception that is both common and understandable for those working looms wrought from silver and gold, with miles upon miles of thread to spare, giving no thought to a missing patch here or there.|_

_|It is those with more to lose and less to gain that know the importance of lending passion into each and every fiber and stitch.|_

_ |Your partner in this task bestowed by Caedin is one who sows with the brass needle she was given and has no qualms about the many threads she cuts short. Begrudge her if you must, but you would be a fool to doubt her loyalty.|_

_|I've only known her for a few days._|

_ |Then wait, you've ample time. And so much to gain.|_

_ |Loyalty is the richest currency on this world in the right places, and it is these places that have molded this young lady over the years. You would do well to remember that.|_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183917665241/chapter-10-greener-pastures


	12. As Above, So Below

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ascend and reach toward greater heights.

149; 0106 U.V.A.

_‘Who sent her?’_

The question squatted in the back of his mind, festering like an untreated wound he couldn’t help but pick at. His head pounded with the incessant drumming that heralded an encroaching migraine, he had been unable to snatch more than an hour or two of rest since the fight in the underground chamber.

Laphon was sitting behind his desk, staring out the window as the last vestiges of night gave way to a new day. This rare time had always been strangely calming to him. Two swift knocks on the door broke this reverie, announcing the presence of Phelldor who entered the room a few moments later.

“Here are the last reports of last night's… incident,” the Mook placed half a dozen hardlight sheets on the desk.

Laphon picked up the topmost sheet and transferred the information into his suit. It displayed the data on a holographic projection in front of him as he read through the report detailing the attack.

“No one was able to identify the Gyiyg who approached the camp?”

Phelldor shook his head, “No sir, all reports indicate that the Gyiyg in the white armor never exposed their face. They were wearing the togas commonly worn by the Order of the Sundered Veil, but that could be a ruse to throw us off their trail.”

The Valisi commander nodded, “True enough, it might be a neat bit of subterfuge.” He put down the first hardlight sheet and picked up the next for review. “Has the bounty on Vý been submitted yet?”

“It’s nearly complete,” Phelldor answered. “I have her physical description and a copy of her psionic signature from her prior criminal records, I just need to know how many credits you want placed on her head and any specific instructions you may have.”

Laphon pulled up a list that detailed Vý’s transgressions. “Let’s see: she has prior warrants out for her apprehension, so that’s two thousand credits to start with. Destruction of public property and the theft of classified information on Valisi operations, another two thousand. Death of six highgards and the injury of two more, add six thousand for the deaths and fifteen hundred for the injuries. That brings us up to eleven thousand, five hundred credits.” Laphon leaned back in his chair, talking as he tried and failed to stifle a large yawn.

“As for special instructions, she is to be captured alive,” Laphon emphasized. “Make it understood that there will be no consolation prizes for the delivery of a corpse. We need to find out who hired her and for what purpose.”

“I’m sure Yuin would be more than happy to pursue this particular bounty.” Phelldor said, chuckling to himself. “You’ll see his report near the bottom. Apparently she blindsided him and raided the supplies stored away in one of the upper floors.”

“Is he alright?”

The Mook waved his superior’s concerns away with a gesture of his tentacle, “He’s quite fine. The only thing wounded is his pride.”

“I wish the man a hasty recovery in that regard.” Laphon said, trying to affect a jovial tone.

Phelldor looked at Laphon, squinting all three of his eyes as if he was studying a particularly complicated equation. “When’s the last time you got some sleep sir?”

“I got a couple of hours after I made it back up from the tunnels. Don’t worry about me, Phelldor, once I’ve gone over the rest of these sheets I’ll get some real rest.”

“Be sure that you do. Is there any other business that requires my immediate attention?”

“Yes two things: First alert all our R&D labs in Nucade to increase security and report any suspicious activity. Second, send the Monarch a digital note. Tell her that I’m enjoying my time off-world, visiting family on Angora and that I hope to return to Enkei soon so that I may continue my dutiful service.”

\-----

As the first fragments of light chased away the remnants of the night, Vý and Nish made their way through the plains of the Kial Hill-lands. An hour before dawn, the two had awoken and vacated the subterranean rooms. Choosing to continue the journey on foot to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

They headed east until they came across a large body of water Nish identified as Mellin Lake, it fed into the rivers that cut through Lhotse forest and acted as a natural border marking the end of the verdant hill lands. And the beginning of the territory once held by the Gyiyg who had claimed the mountainous area of Arlosa City as their own.

On the other side of the lake there was a mountain range forming a natural bulwark overlooking the grassy area, beyond their peaks was a gargantuan metal structure that stretched far up into the clouds. Nish placed a hand in the water as they approached its edge, using PSI to form a raft made of ice to ferry the pair across the lake. While Nish directed their makeshift vessel toward the western side of Mellin Lake, Vý took her usual spot, lounging, using a bag for a pillow.

As they got closer to the mountain, stairs could be seen; carved into the face of the rock ascending to numerous points leading to mountain paths, winding toward the high stone metropolis’ built atop summits and cliffs.

Nish pulled their raft up to the stone landing built into the base of the mountain, they hopped off the thin frosty vessel and began the trip up the stairs. At certain junctions, they came across entrances to tunnels leading inside the mountain but they kept to the paths along the mountainside, electing to focus on gaining enough height to be able to see Arlosa City and the towering megastructure that was half transit and half support system.

The shorter Gyiyg took the time to mentally confer with her new ‘roommate’ as Nish seemed deep in thought and hadn’t spoken up in a while only asking for a bottle of water or something to eat from their dwindling stash of food every now and again.

_|So now that I’ve begun this whole 'mantling' process, what's actually changed?| _ Vý asked, curious to the finer details of her new arrangement.

_|Put simply; We’ve been ‘hardwired’ into the nexus of psychic energy in your brain, Thus allowing you to control and channel a vast amount of energy.|_

_|That's the pineal gland, right?|_

_|Correct, also known as the ‘third eye’. Though to a Mook it'd be the fourth eye, Has that ever come up? Now I'm curi-|_

_|Lith.| She said, cutting him off before he could continue his tangent._

_|Right right uh...were was I? Pineal gland. It's also the area of the brain that creates the hormones that affect your sleep patterns so the unique influx of psychic power caused by the mantling process means the two of you no longer require sleep.|_

_|Wait...like at all!? I won't get tired?|_

_|Well you can still become fatigued since your feeble mortal body has its limits but my presence bolsters your stamina and negates the need for rest in the traditional sense.|_

She had noticed that despite only getting about four hours of sleep on a hard stone floor in a cave, she was remarkably well-rested. And that throughout the hike up the mountainous stairway paths, they hadn’t stopped to rest even once nor had felt the need to.

They were making good time up the mountain, At this height, she was looking down on Kial Hill-lands and its many hills and towers littered across the landscape.

|So do I still need to eat?|

_|Of course you’ll still need to eat.| _ Lith Kah replied, bemused. 

He continued. |I’ve heard of certain Regalius Psiconus’ learning how to condition their metabolism to subsist off of psychic energy but those are the masters. Men and women who’ve spent years of their lives honing their skills. It's not something you can just...innately figure out.|

Several hours of hiking later they reached the peak of the stairs. Where the path no longer rose and instead led around the mountain to reveal the collection of ranges that made up the Varian Mountains. Some of the smaller cities were perched on colossal cliffs nestled in between the larger mountains while others areas were built from the very mountain as the stone had been reshaped to create tall villas and estates overlooking the region.

Atop the largest mountain was the city of Arlosa the third great mecca of Gyiygkinds past. The central mountain was dwarfed by the fin-like structure overshadowing it. One of the four supporting columns holding up the planet-wide city that encased Enkei.

Nish turned to Vý and asked. “So how should we go about this?”

“Not sure yet,” She replied as she jumped up to the stone railing that overlooked the rocky terrain. “I’ll tell you when we get there.”

Without another word Vý dived off the rail, free-falling for several moments. Letting rushing wind fill her ears and listening to the fluttering of her Pancho as she dove, enjoying the feeling of absolute freedom. She activated her armor before she hit the ground soaring low between the cliffs and crags heading toward the metal structure. Nish was close behind, keeping pace with Vý as they approached the ‘column’.

They landed thirty feet from the entrance; long sliding glass doors set in a greyish silver metal that caught the sunlight giving the tall structure a sheen. They had landed around the corner as to not draw more attention than was needed. Several Valisi were guarding the building but there wasn’t the abundance usually attributed to increased security.

“Okay, I’m serious this time, how do we get in?”

Vý gave the question some thought weighing their options. “Well we can’t take a direct approach, so we’ll need a cover story.”

“First things first, we can’t walk up there armed to the teeth.” She tapped her finger on her Pangolin twice to disengage it and put it away, Nish followed suit slipping hers into her own bag.

“They won’t mind the Piezo?” Nish asked.

Vý shook her head as she removed one of the blankets from her bag and used it to wrap up the Psionic Railgun, concealing it as best she could.

“I’ll take care of that when we get there.” Her tail waved lazily back and forth behind her the way it did when she put her mind to a task.

“If you say so.” Nish shrugged. “So what's our story?”

“You could be...my step-sister. My father recently married your mother and whisked her away to the big city for a life of luxury.” Vý said, sounding more confident as she built the story.

“And they sent you to come get me as a show of good faith.” Nish added, giving more details to the lie. “We decided to enjoy the countryside of Cade, as you’ve never visited it yourself.”

Vý nodded. “Cut the truth with a bit of lies and that’s where the real magic happens.” She looked up at Nish adding a teasing playfulness to her words. “Should I be worried that this seemingly innocent monk is so good at lying?”

“Of course not, I just happen to do a lot of reading. I’ve always loved a good story.”

Vý thought back to books lining the walls of Nish’s home, before continuing. “Alright, last thing we’ll need is fake names.”

“Ava is good for me.” Nish replied.

“Well my name can be ‘Zari’, let’s go.” She started walking toward the entrance, not waiting for the monk’s reply.

_|Come now Ava we mustn't fall behind.| Mia-zymat teased._

Nish frowned as she replied. _|Hush you.|_

They strode past the Valisi quickly, earning not even a second glance as they entered the building. The sliding doors opened as they approached, leading into a room with a small front desk and a pair of doors to the left of it. Behind the desk was a Shambler.

He was wearing a blue and white vest lined with fur, Vý found it slightly comical that someone born on the coldest planet in the Virindis would need additional fur to warm themselves, though she pushed this thought out of her mind as they walked up to the man's desk.

“Excuse me sir.”

The Shambler said nothing as he tapped away on his keyboard.

“Sir?” She repeated, added more volume to her voice.

He stopped typing and replied, looking over as if he had just noticed them. 

The man looked annoyed as if doing his job was a bother in and of itself she could hear him tapping his foot impatiently behind the desk. “Names.”

“Ava and Zari.”

“You have identification cards?”

“Um...no but here's the thi-”

“No I.D. no ride.”

The man had barely looked away from his screen during the entirety of the five-second conversation.

A brief look of irritation crossed Vý face, before she tucked it away behind a sincere ‘looking’ smile.

“Forty credits, no questions.” She said quickly.

“Come now, you expect me to risk my job for a measly fo-” Vý cut the man off, while she smoothly reached into a pocket on the inside of her pancho.

“Oh I’m sorry did I say forty? I meant four **thousand** good sir, excuse my misstep. We’ll be needing a full blindwalk.”

She slid a transparent card over the desk in a smooth motion, beneath one of the stoppered bottles of water Nish had packed. “Please have a drink, you must be thirsty with all the hard work you do.” She said in an overly sweet tone.

If she hadn’t been paying attention, Nish would’ve missed the quick look of surprise that lined the man's face. As he took notice of the opportunity dropped in his lap.

“And what of your...luggage?” Said the Shambler as he grabbed the bottle and card nonchalantly scanning it.

“If it wouldn’t be to much trouble, I’d like it sent up so we can claim it when we get to the city.”

Finding everything satisfactory, he nodded and waved them though to the next area. “I’ll take care of it.”

They handed off their belongings, received two tickets and headed through a set of doors into a long hallway.

Nish sounded pleasantly surprised as she asked. “Zari?”

“Yes dear sister?” Vý replied smiling her mischievous smile.

“Where did you get an extra four thousand credits?”

“From Uncle Phelldor, he’s on father's side of the family you wouldn’t know him.”

Upon reaching the end of the hallway they entered a room with countless glass pods that were each around twelve feet tall. The seats inside of the pods were cushioned booths forming a ring around a thin pillar set in the center of it working as an elevator mechanism. They picked one at random and the doors opened at their proximity, once they were both seated a ding sounded and they began a steady rise gaining speed and height.

“So what’s a ‘blindwalk’?” Nish asked.

“What?”

“You told that guy we’d need a ‘full blindwalk’.”

“Oh right, that’s code for; no weapon scans.” She leaned back on the comfortable seat of the elevator closing her eyes. “Can’t have the Monarch’s hounds and shadows poking their noses in our business if we want to get anything done.”

“Do you know how you’re going to find these special Gyiyg.”

“Well, I’ve given it a small bit of thought. If the entity is essentially everywhere at once it should be able to give me the location of the Gyiyg it needs me to find.”

“That makes sense, we should investigate those labs you mentioned as well.” Nish said as she nodded.

The windows showed the rapidly shrinking continent beneath them as they rocketed up to the global city above.

“Are you all in now?” Vý asked, opening one eye and smirking.

“Of course. It’s not just **your** mission.”

“I think they meant for you to be roped into this plan from the beginning. It said itself; ‘Nothing is accidental’.” Vý noted as the pod zipped along its track, carrying the two up toward Nucades surface and their new future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://the-thirteenth-note.tumblr.com/post/183955911241/chapter-11-as-above-so-below


End file.
